Love Me or Hate Me
by hannahbee27
Summary: Bella, no day-dreaming, thirsty customers. Go." Jasper snapped. I mumbled something less than appropriate under my breath and continued mixing drinks behind the bar for the countless girls hoping to get in the same pair of pants: Edward Cullen's pants.
1. Chapter 1

**This is only my second ff, so tell me if this is good or worth scrapping. Reviews are much appreciated :)**

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**BPOV**

"Ugh, my skank-dar just went off." Rose complained, looking at a particular bleach-blond piece of work who looked to be on her third (or fourth?) boob-job.

"Are you kidding? Mine's been gong off all night." I replied. And it was the truth. Friday night at Jasper's was unofficially known as the whore watering-hole of Forks, Washington. Girls from as far as Seattle came down to get a taste of one thing and one thing only. Edward Cullen. Don't get me wrong, Cullen was gorgeous, but I'd seen him interact with enough girls to know he was a total dick.

"Bella, no day-dreaming, thirsty customers. Go." Jasper snapped at me. I mumbled something less than appropriate under my breath and continued mixing drinks behind the bar for the countless girls hoping to get in the same damn pair of pants: Edward Cullen's pants. I prayed for the moment he would take the stage and distract the masses from drowning their sorrows via my perfectly mixed appletinis.

"Oh thank God." Rose breathed as the house lights dimmed, signaling the start of his concert. The whole place shook with screaming that practically made my ears bleed. Spot lights highlighted the piano in the corner as the rest of the band did sound checks. Those spotlights were like the bat-signal of douche-baggery.

Rose and I, the only bartenders on shift tonight, hurriedly served the last of the drinks being ordered before he would enter stage left. When he finally came on stage, we breathed a sigh of relief and leaned against the back counter.

"At least his ass is nice." Rose winked at me. "Trust me Bella, guys like that are the ones where you follow one simple rule: look but don't touch." I laughed and gave her a playful push.

"Seriously. I wouldn't want to know what kind of venereal diseases lurk in his nether-regions." We both laugh, much to the disgust of the other girls surrounding the bar.

"Ha, looks as if we're the only ones not under monsieur Cullen's spell." She spits. It's not that we're bitter or pinning or anything like that. Rose and I know that guys worth dating do not fall in the same category as Edward Cullen.

"Hey. If you didn't know already, I'm Edward Cullen and this is my band. We're going to be rocking your world tonight, so you might as well get used to it." I snorted at his confidence. He struck the piano in a sudden blow of notes and sound, the drummer filing in behind him, followed by the massive guitar player.

"Who's that playing the guitar? He must be new." Rose states, obviously intrigued.

"Here." I toss the concert schedule for the next week at her, which listed all the bands and their members.

"Emmett Sawyer. Mm-mm I like me some Emmett." She giggled. Rose could get any man she wanted. I was extremely jealous of her perfect sandy blond hair and piercing blue eyes. And god she had legs that went on forever. Yeah, so what if I have a girl-crush on my best friend?

_Hey baby hey, you've got what I need  
You've got what I want  
We should get together  
Hey hey hey_

"You know, they could be really good if they didn't write such crap." I remarked, listening to the generic lyrics pouring out from Cullen's mouth.

"Hi!" Peeped a shrill voice from the other side of the counter.

"Um hey. What can I get you?" I asked the vibrant, pixie-like girl. She had ridiculously dark short hair which was spiked in all manner of directions, making her look even more surreal.

"Just a Heineken, Please." She smiled politely. I half wondered if she was here to get with Edward as well. I pop off the top of her beer and slide it over to her on the counter. "Thanks. Isn't he great?" She nods her head in Cullen's direction.

"Oh yeah! I can hardly keep from dancing while working." I lie. I could hear Rose snickering from behind me. I mentally rolled my eyes and tried to kick her from behind. Failed attempt. The pixie girl sat at the bar the whole time, just sitting and listening to Cullen. I was honestly surprised she didn't engage in the grinding trains closer to the stage.

As the band ended their last song of the night, I eyed Rose, who was still staring at muscly Emmett.

"Time to get back to work." I sighed. After the realization that he wasn't going to sleep with them, girls would be lining up at our bar to flush away the sadness. The orders started flowing in almost immediately. I was pouring and mixing at full speed when I noticed him approach the bar. "_Shit._" I muttered. This was going to be a zoo.

"I'll have what she's having." Cullen called to me, pointing at the pixie girl. Suspicions confirmed. I did wonder how the hell we was going to fit in those skin-tight leather pants she was wearing. I passed him his beer and continued serving the masses of chicks who only there because he was within 50 feet of them, and they tried their best just to touch him.

The night rolled on, more acts played, more drinks were served, and more tips for me. We were about 15 minutes from closing up before I got a break long enough to take a pee. When I came back, Cullen and pixie were still there. Just talking and drinking. I had never seen him stay with a girl at the bar longer than 10 minutes before asking her if she wanted to go back to his place. He didn't even seem to want to touch (or more typically grope) her in any way.

"Let's go home, yeah?" He asked pixie, wrapping his arm around her slender waist.

"Okay. But I'm driving. You scare the shit out me when you drive. Dad totally has rubbed off on you." _Dad? Fuck the what?_

"I'm not going to take driving advice from the one sister who teeters along at 40 on the highway." _Oh shit. Well I'll be damned. Cullen had a little sister._

"Have a nice night!" I called to them as they exited the bar, waiting for them to leave so I could explode with laughter. And then he looked back at me and gave me the most incredible smile. Fuck Cullen, why did you do that? I'm your bartender, not your groupie.

**EPOV**

It was pretty damn cold out, and I was pissed that I had left my leather jacket at home. Luckily, it was a short walk from the bar to my baby: my beautiful silver baby. My Volvo. I could not love a human child as much as I loved that car.

"Oh. My. God. Edward!" Alice squealed as we climbed in the relative warmth of the interior. "You weren't kidding when you said she was pretty." Maybe it was a mistake to tell Alice about her. But maybe not, Alice had always been better at approaching awkward situations.

"Okay okay, you saw her. Calm down Ali. I just need to know how to go about talking to her." She bit her lip to hide her smile, rather unsuccessfully.

"Say it!" She sang in my ear. I ignored her and started up the car, blasting the heat to keep from freezing my balls off.

I pulled out of my parking spot, only to see her climb into a rusty red truck that looked like it could have been new when grandpa Cullen was born. Thank god for the wait to exit the parking lot. It gave me to time to stare out my rear-view mirror at her. Long, wavy brown hair that fell to the middle of her back. Delicious hips hugged by tight jeans. That ass starred in many of my dreams. And man, that girl could rock a pair of black Chucks.

"Edward. Say it." Alice repeated in my ear. I sighed and tried to suppress the vivid fantasies that were popping into my head, quite a few involving the removal of those jeans.

"Fine. Alice, I need your help." She let out another squeal of excitement. If anything made Alice happy, it was helping other people; whether they wanted it or not.

"You won't regret this Edward. Bella will be yours. I promise." She smiled smugly to herself. Her decision was final. It would happen. But I was a nervous wreck inside. There was no way this would happen smoothly. I turned up the radio to drown out the skepticism that was building up in my mind.

Edward Cullen gets what he wants. And he wants Bella Swan.

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_**Let me know what you think and I'll continue :)**_  
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	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for the reviews :) I shall continue this little story that has been racking my brain for a few days. I really hope you enjoy it. **

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**BPOV**

I was such a good friend. Being Jasper's first employee when he moved his business from Texas to Washington, I had a little bit of pull when it came to certain information.

"Please Jasper? I just need Emmett Sawyer's phone number, and I know you have it." I pleaded into the phone.

"Why do you need it?" He taunted. Jasper was generally a good guy, but he couldn't resist teasing me after my birthday party last year....

"It's for...a friend." I sighed loud enough for him to hear over the phone. "Look, its for Rosalie Hale. She had a bad breakup with a guy named James recently and I think this Emmett guy might be able to cheer her up." I nailed it. Jasper had a soft spot for Rose ever since she saved his ass from a crazy ex-girlfriend a couple months ago. He couldn't say no now.

"Oh. Okay. Do you have a pen and paper?" He gave me the much desired digits before warning me to only use my powers of manipulation for good. I quickly called Rose to give her the good news.

"Are you shitting me?!" She yelled.

"You better call him. If you don't I'm going to go over there and slap you drag-queen style." I was determined to make this work. I saw the way she drooled over him the other night. "Honestly I haven't seen you so worked up since Tyler Crowley in 10th grade." I said, poking fun at her unrequited high school crush.

"Ha. Ha. Funny Bella. I'll definitely call him. Thanks so much for the dirty work to get his number."

"No problem, babe. See ya next shift." Jasper always scheduled us together. His philosophy was simple: tits sell drinks, two sets sells even more.

Today was my day off, and miraculously, it didn't rain. I had another phone call to make.

"Hey Jake, it's Bella....I've missed you too.....That's great, I was actually going to ask you if you wanted to go down to First Beach since it isn't raining.......Great, I'll meet you there in an hour.....Bye Jake." I showered and dried my hair before packing a bag with water bottles and a couple of granola bars. Before I moved to Forks way back in high school, if you had mentioned hiking, I would have gone into hysterics. I used to hate the outdoors. After being in Forks for over 5 years, I'd grown accustomed to its leafy greenness.

The drive to the Quileute reservation was a relatively short one, and despite my truck's inability to get past 60, I made it there in record time. I walked down the gravely beach to my favorite drift-wood chair. Plopping my bag at my feet, I took in the gray beauty of the beach. After seeing First Beach so many times, the balmy blue waters of Florida just didn't seem to look right. I munched on a granola bar while waiting for my first friend upon my arrival in Forks: Jacob Black.

I heard the noisy rumblings of another vehicle on the road above the beach.

"Bella!" A deep voice called.

"Um, down here!" I yelled up to the cliff where the road over looks the ocean.

"I'm so glad you called, I haven't seen you in forever!" The voice said, still too far away for me to put a face to the voice, but I knew it was Jacob. I rose from my drift-wood log and ran to the fringe of forest that hid the path from the road to the beach. I was met by a towering and all-grown up Jake.

"Oh my God Jake, you're huge." I said to the chest that enveloped me into a bear hug.

"Maybe it wouldn't be such a shock to your system if you came and visited me more often." He joked, with a hint of hurt.

"I've been super busy Jake, at the bar and everything. If I had more time, you know who I'd spend it with." I gave him a wink. I really did miss him, the last time I'd seen him was at his high school graduation a few months back. Life had been crazy up to this point, he was trying to get into college, and I was trying to earn enough money to return to Peninsula College next fall.

"Do you know what you want to do yet?" He asked, always curious.

"I'm not sure. But I really enjoyed this English class I took last semester, maybe I'll go for an English major. Become a teacher or something. Or a writer. Who knows?" While in high school I never paid much attention to my future, I mostly focused on getting through a day accident-free. My senior class voted me most clumsy in the senior poll. They hit the nail right on the head with that one.

"What about you? Still thinking about opening up a garage?" Jake had always loved cars, and spent most of his allowance buying parts for his little Volkswagen Rabbit, fixing it up so it would run by the time he'd get his license.

"My dad really wants me to go off to school for a bit before I jump into opening up a shop. He thinks it'll 'open my horizons' or something. Can't say that I see myself as the college type, you know?"

"You never know. I'd laugh my ass off if you became some great doctor or lawyer, seeing you in a suit would be a riot." I poked his ribs playfully. The dressiest I'd ever seen Jacob was at his graduation, and he'd only worn a dress shirt and jeans.

We talked and laughed until the sky was coated in thick darkening clouds. I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed Jacob's company. I frowned at the sky, knowing that the all too present rain would soon be returning, and I'd stupidly (albeit rather hopefully) left my rain coat at my tiny two bedroom house Charlie left me when he ran off with his new wife to Oregon.

"We should get going, don't want the sky to open up on us." I suggested, looking up at the gray expanse above us. "Thanks for coming out here with me. I missed you." I confessed.

"No problem Bells. It's always good to see you." He smiled so genuinely, it made me feel good that I'd done something other than sleep in on my day off.

We parted at the road and got into our separate vehicles, waving to each other as we drove off in separate directions. I got back to my house and felt rather lonely after my time with Jake. I figured e-mailing my mother would soothe my homesickness a bit.

_Hi mom. I've got another day off so I figured I'd send some love your way. How's Phil? Did he finally get signed somewhere? I hope you guys can find a nice place down in Florida. Enjoy the sun for me, yeah? I miss you. I'm making pretty good money bar tending at this place in town; I have almost enough to cover half my tuition for next semester. Looks like I'll be able to go back to school in the fall, with a little help from dad of course. You really should get a cell phone, that way I can call you wherever you are. As soon as you get a place, let me know your number okay? I love you. Say hi to Phil for me. Love, Bella._

There was only one draw-back involved in living in Forks: being so far away from my mother. Renee Swan, now Renee Casey, had escaped green life in Forks with me when I was just two. I visited my father every summer until I was seventeen, when I moved here permanently while my mother and her new husband Phil moved around in search of a minor league baseball team willing to sign Phil to a contract.

I was pulled out of my memories by the buzzing of my cell on the kitchen counter next to my laptop.

"Hello?" I inquired into the receiver, not recognizing the number.

"Hi! Is this Bella Swan?" The voice chirped.

"Yes, and who is speaking?"

"Alice Cullen. You served me at Jasper's last night." Pixie? Why the hell was Edward's sister calling me on a Saturday afternoon? "Short, black, spiky hair. Remember?"

"Oh yeah. Hey." I honestly didn't know what to say. Should I tell her my true opinion of her brother? Probably not. Chances are she already knew about his reputation. Gossip and scandal travel fast in a small town like Forks.

"I was calling to see if you'd like to have lunch with me today. I know this great little Italian place, and you seemed really nice at the bar last night so I called up my friend Jasper and he gave me your number. What do you say?" That two-timing bastard. He must have called up Edward to get Emmett's number and mentioned me. Did I really want to spend the afternoon talking with a girl I barely knew? Whose brother I detested?

"Uhh, give me a second to check my calendar." I lied into the phone. I wanted it to seem like I actually had a social life on my days off and it gave me a moment to collect my thoughts. I scanned my kitchen for inspiration; I needed an answer to pixie's proposition. My eyes fell upon my graduation gift from my mother. A little placard with fancy script saying "Take risks, life is a one of a kind opportunity. You only get one." My mother loved inspirational trinkets, and her old house in Phoenix was filled with them. I decided that I needed to stop playing it safe, and take some risks. I was 22, and my life was going places. Why not?

"Looks like I'm free. What time do you want to meet up?" I asked, excited over my new found confidence and outlook on life.

"How does 12:30 sound?"

"Perfect. I'll see you there." I said, satisfied with myself.

"Oh, and Bella?" She asked uncertainly.

"Yes, Alice?"

"Do you mind if my brother Edward comes with us?"

**EPOV**

I can't believe she talked me into doing this. Hell, I was freaking out over what to wear. I've never doubted myself like this before.

"Alice!" I shouted down the stairs. Unfortunately, as much as I didn't want to admit it, I needed her help. Again.

"Yes darling brother?" She cooed. She gasped when she examined my room. I'd thrown clothes all over the place, looking for something appropriate to wear.

"Help?" I pointed to the mountain of clothes I had piled into a corner; things I had narrowed down to lunch date worthy.

"You're hopeless. But I love you too much to let you do this by yourself." She began rummaging through my pile, making tsk noises whenever she came across something she considered 'unworthy of a hobo'. "Edward, you should consider using clothes hangers once in a while. This shirt, I think I might mourn for it. Look at these wrinkles!"

"Alice, it's a piece of fabric. No need to cry." I rolled my eyes. My little sister always got really into clothes and girly shit. She seemed to live and breathe that kind of stuff.

"Wear this." She held out a black t-shirt, a pair of jeans, and my classic brown leather jacket. My staples.

"Are you kidding? I wear that to the grocery store." I could have picked that out half an hour ago when I first started my search.

"Yikes Edward, its just lunch. No need to wear a suit." She giggled and skipped out of my room.

I was particularly nervous about today. And my dream of Bella last night didn't help. She was lying on my bed in this silky white nightie thing, just waiting for me. Her skin looked creamy and delicious under the sheer fabric, and I just wanted to sink my teeth into her.

Get a grip Edward; she's not in your bed. Yet.

"Edwaaaard!" Alice screamed from downstairs. "Let's go! Do you want to keep your darling Isabella waiting?" I was going to kill Alice if she didn't stop. I tried to fix my bed-head hair, but gave up and slumped down the stairs.

"Edward." My father Carlisle assessed my appearance. "You look, nice." He seemed skeptical.

"It's a lunch date, not prom." I tried to match Alice's calm composure, but my nerves were getting the best of me.

This could either be the best thing that ever happened to me, or the worst.

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**Soooo what do you think so far? Let me know and I'll post chapter 3 as soon as I put the finishing touches on that bad boy aka Edward Cullen. Why is it that bad boys are so attractive? Anyways, shoot me a review or comment and I'll try and get back to you if I'm not too busy :) Danke.  
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	3. Chapter 3

**Hiya. I has moar twi-crack for ya. Thank you all so much for the story/author adds and reviews. They make my insides smile. I hope the date scene is what you all hoped for, I was nervous writing it, hope I don't disappoint!**

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**EPOV**

Due to my little closet explosion, we were a bit late and she was waiting for us at the restaurant. I felt like shit, this was my only chance to make a good impression on Bella. She'd worked at Jasper's long enough to see my less than desirable history with women. I practically hid behind tiny Alice's back when we entered the restaurant, hoping no past one-night-stands would be lurking in one of the booths. Luckily, we made it to her table without any incidents.

"I'm so sorry we're late." Alice apologized, covering my ass in the process. "We ran into some lunch hour traffic."

"It's fine. I hope you guys don't mind, but I ordered drinks already. Root beers okay?" _Mmmm my favorite. _

"That's perfect." I interject. Seems like the only situations in which I actually talked to Bella are ones involving drinks. I was hoping to change that. Alice and I took our seats and inspected the menu while Bella stared off into space. This wasn't going well. I peeked at her from behind the large folding menu, taking in how pretty her pale skin looked next to the deep sapphire blue of her sweater, how perfectly her chestnut hair framed her soft face.

"What are you having, Bella?" Alice asked, breaking the awkward silence hanging over our heads.

"The mushroom ravioli is good. Charlie, er my dad, would take me here all the time when I came up to visit him during the summer." Finally, an insight into this girl's past.

"So where did you spend the rest of the year?" Alice prodded her for more while I just sat there like a mute scared duck.

"Well my parents split up when I was two, so I lived with my mom in Phoenix until I moved back to Forks at seventeen." She seemed to be blushing, which was utterly adorable.

"How does the sun compare?" I asked, finally growing a pair and talking to her.

"You can't compare a Ford to a Porsche." She snorted. A response that caught me off guard. If the girl liked cars, I could see this as the beginning of a beautiful friendship (with benefits, please?). "I miss Phoenix, but I've gotten used to Forks. It's my surrogate home." She said diplomatically.

We eventually all ordered the mushroom ravioli, and it was damn good. I love me some good Italian food. While I was moaning and praising the pasta, I could hear both girls giggling at me. My queue to play it up. If humor was the way to get her to loosen up, I was going to try my best.

I purposely dribbled tomato sauce on my lip, setting the trap. I continued jumping in and out of conversation, just adding a remark or two make sure the girls, who were getting on really well, remembered I was still there.

"Um, Edward?" The bait had been taken.

"Yeah Bella?" I asked innocently.

"You have some…." She couldn't help but giggle at my wide-eyed stare.

"Yes?" I pretended to act frantic. "Is there a bug in my food? Oh god I gotta get it out! I'm going to get food poisoning and _shit, _I'm too young to die!" I was going all out on this.

"Edward! It's just a bit of sauce on your lip!" Bella exclaimed, causing the whole restaurant to stare at our raucous table.

"Oh." I flicked my tongue across my lips and slurped up the perfectly placed glob. "Thanks Bella." I flashed her my most flirtatious smile, hoping my plan worked, and I would soon start to grow on her.

"You're welcome." She giggled uncontrollably.

Now all I could do was hope that she saw past the chauvinistic facade I put out on the stage, and maybe she'd give me the chance I'd been hoping for.

**BPOV**

He was a complete clown. Who knew? I was expecting suggestive looks, or maybe he'd try to cop a feel. He must have been on his best behavior in front of Alice. She certainly was a good influence on him.

In all honesty I thoroughly enjoyed talking to Alice; she was a genuinely interesting person. She was a year younger than me, but she was going to be perusing a degree in fashion design from Peninsula College next fall. She was thrilled to find that we would be starting school together in September. I had been pretty much a loner last semester, but with Alice on campus, I could at least be sure of a lunch date here and there.

After lunch, we walked through the main drag of Forks, just talking. I found it so easy to open up to the Cullens, even Edward, about my past and my ambitions. They happily reciprocated.

"My dad really wants me to follow in his footsteps and become a doctor, but I don't want any hand outs so I'm trying to earn enough money with the band to pay for medical school myself." He told me, smiling softly. I never thought him capable of caring about other people that way, a way that wasn't completely selfish.

"That's quite…noble of you, Edward." I replied. If only Rose could see me now, complimenting Edward Cullen, she'd have an aneurysm. He blushed slightly before shrugging it off, he obviously wasn't used to being flattered by girls who didn't want to sleep with him sight unseen.

We eventually walked back to our waiting vehicles, ready to part for the rest of the afternoon. We said our goodbyes and I got back into my familiar beast of a truck. It felt warm and safe, just the way home should.

Back at my house, I cleaned and did laundry until my stomach rumbled for some dinner. I ate and cleaned up my dishes before heading off to bed early. There really wasn't much to do at home except chores and gardening. Jasper's was closed on Sundays so I had another full day of nothing to do ahead of me. I needed a hobby or something to eat up all my free time on the weekends.

I needed a man. I'd only ever had a few boyfriends, none of them lasting more than a few months, so my experience with guys was rather limited. I always thought that I would meet someone in college, but nothing special had come my way yet. Frankly, I was tired of waiting.

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**Whew. More from the mind of our manwhoreward in the next chapter. Reviews are shiny, and I am a magpie. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Yikes, sorry about updating so late. Things got...busy. Yeah. Anyways, I hope this chapter doesn't ruin any of your days, its kind of sour. So pucker up, here we go.**

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**EPOV**

I wanted to see her again. Like, ASAP. Fuck waiting for Friday's show. I needed to run into her again, just to hear her voice. I needed to clear my head to formulate a plan for seeing Bella again. I flipped through my music collection looking for something to calm me down: Modest Mouse, Mozart, Muse…..Mozart would do the trick. I cranked the volume on my massive stereo and let the soft music flood my room. Lying on my bed, I closed my eyes and let go. I let visions of her face and body dominate my thoughts; no need to keep my composure in my own room.

The ringing of my phone broke my fast approaching sleep, dragging my mind away from the slightly erotic dreams that were quickly filling my mind.

"Hmmf?" I answered groggily.

"Dude, where are you? It's 3 and I thought we were going to do a run through of Friday's set list." Emmett's husky voice sounded even lower on the phone.

"Shit. Sorry, I uh, fell asleep. I'll be over in a minute." I was not about to let Emmett know about Bella, he had the biggest mouth in the Pacific Northwest and I didn't want to scare her off.

I finally made it over to Jasper's for practice, my band giving me a wide variety of looks as I dragged my late ass up to the stage.

"Cullen, where were you? You're never late." Ben looked concerned from behind the massive drum kit his over-bearing mother bought him for his eighteenth birthday.

"I fell asleep. That's all." They could sense I was getting defense, and I dreaded the interrogation that was soon to come. There were no secrets in the band.

"Were you _with_ someone?" Mike raised his eyebrow, setting his bass down on his favorite Peavy amp.

"Yeah. Your mom, Newton. Are we going to play or gossip like chicks?" Now I was getting angry.

"Alright alright. What's first on the set list?" Emmett asked, obviously frustrated that we were starting late. Maybe he had a hot date later.

"Uuuh, let's do a cover of Starlight?" I suggested, wanting to get my new favorite song out on stage.

"Yeah. I'm tired of Mike's shitty love songs." Ben called out from the back of the stage, laughing so hard he almost fell off his rickety stool. Mikey was the only lyricist in the band, so whatever he wrote, we played. I wrote tons of music, but none of it was what you would call the typical punky alternative rock that we played every Friday night.

We planned the set list and ran through it for roughly two hours before leaving the empty bar. We were damn lucky that Mike was had good connections with Jasper, and he let us have a key to the bar so we could practice on Sundays.

My life had developed a horrifying routine since graduation: Monday through Thursday I bummed around my parents house, Friday was show night, Saturday and Sunday were band practice. I was so bored all the time; I needed another job or a hobby or _something_. Something to break the monotony of my days before med school.

If I was lucky, Isabella Swan would fill that void.

**BPOV**

Monday finally rolled around after a weekend that seemed to last forever. I was practically a middle-aged woman by the time I got to Jasper's. Hell, I even thought I had a hot flash in my truck on the way over to the bar. Rose and I chatted while setting up for Monday's after work crowd.

"Please tell me you called Emmett?" I asked, hoping she would act on that crazy crush of hers. She blushed instantly, the best non-verbal confirmation. "Did you guys meet up? Or did you just talk on the phone?"

"We, um," Giggle, "We...had dinner on uh, on Sunday." She stammered like a love-sick teenager.

"And?" I raised my eyebrow, hoping for some elaboration. "Come on Rose, as your official matchmaker, I need details." I saw her eyes widen, a signal that the flood gates were soon to be opening.

"Okay so I was a little peeved at first because he was like half an hour late, but god did he make up for it. He brought me flowers. Flowers, Bella. The last time someone gave me flowers was for my 9th grade piano recital. He was so charming, we talked forever, so long they had to kick us out of the restaurant. I offered drinks at my place after, you know, hoping to break in my new mattress, but he asked for my number and said he'll see me at the bar. He didn't want to sleep with me on the first date. Do you know how rare that is?" She gushed.

I didn't give her time to say anymore, I hugged her until she made little choking noises. When I released her, her eyes were still wide, but they had different emotions in them; confusion and anger. I looked over my shoulder, trying to see what was upsetting her.

"Hello, Bella." Edward purred. Rose released me from our hug and shot me a warning glance before heading to the back offices of the bar.

"What are you doing here? You don't play until Friday." I mused.

"Well, what if I wanted to see you?" He raised his eyebrow suggestively. Disgusting.

I should have known. The bastard was hitting on me; the whole lunch was a set up to get in my pants. Suddenly angry, I threw down the towel I was using to dry some glasses and looked him dead in the eye.

"Excuse me, what?" I tried my best to be level headed, but it wasn't easy considering I had a vast knowledge of his questionable past. I thought he had changed. I thought he was different. I had built him up from where he'd been on my totem pole, only to have him slip back down.

"I...er, had a really good time at lunch and, god I'm sorry Bella if I'm freaking you out or anything." His face looked sincere, but I wasn't going to let my guard down anytime soon. "I just really wanted to...to see you again." He looked down at the counter of the bar, tracing the marbled colors with his long fingers.

"Look. I am _not_ one of your conquests, Edward." I pointed directly at his chest, my anger surprised even myself. "If you think you can come in here and charm your way into my jeans, you're sadly mistaken. I suggest you leave before Rosalie comes back and rams a shot glass up your—you get the picture." I huffed and threw my dish towel at him before retreating to the safety of the employee's bathroom.

_What was wrong with me? Why was I being so defensive all of a sudden?_ He hadn't even suggested sex, or a date, or _anything._ But I freaked and assumed the worst. Was I afraid of being seen as easy? I wouldn't even let him explain himself. I felt a slight pang of guilt for being such a bitch when all he wanted to do was talk. I raked my fingers through my tangled mane over and over, straining and pulling at the strands. My stomach flipped and flopped as a I sat flustered on the toilet. _Why the hell was he having such an effect on me? _I would not allow myself to be won over by smiles and charm. I would keep the promise Rose and I made to each other: Edward Cullen was out of bounds. Neither of us wanted to see the other get hurt.

It dawned on me that pixie could provide me with some much needed insight. I wanted, no _needed_ to pick her brain, and maybe find some clues as to the strange behavior of her brother.

I analyzed lunch on Saturday over and over in my head. I was certain I hadn't done anything to even suggest that I was interested. I was nice, but not too eager. I was sociable without acting like an excited puppy. Nothing else made sense other than he had been trying to get to me all along. For all I knew, pixie had helped him plan the whole thing. I felt so stupid for listening to that ridiculous placard. I would be throwing it in the garbage when I got home. A soft knock on the door pulled me out of my neurotic frenzy.

"Bella? Are you okay? If he hurt you I'll tear off his manly bits and use them as a centerpiece." Rose called from the other side of the door. I couldn't help but laugh at Rose, she was a diabolical pervert. I tried to fix my hair after running my fingers through it while thinking. I opened the door to find her standing with her arms crossed on her chest. The universal symbol for 'spill it, bitch'.

"Jasper's going to kill me for leaving the bar unattended isn't he?" I could just imagine how red his face would get, and how he'd start to shake a little.

"Forget Jasper. I got him a date, so he should be pretty occupied for the time being. But you, you need to fess up. Right. Now." I sighed, I hadn't even told her about lunch, and I knew she would flip. I was bracing for the worst.

"Pixie, well Alice Cullen, called me up on Saturday asking if I wanted to go to lunch. She said something about how I looked 'nice' and 'friendly'. So I went and Edward was there." I gave her my best 'how-was-I-supposed-to-know' look. Her ice-blue eyes widened, but she kept quiet so I could finish.

"Everything went pretty smoothly, actually. I mean he wasn't aggressive or suggestive at all. I thought nothing of it and he didn't seem that bad. But he came back to see me just now saying he'd like to see me again. I feel awful. I don't know if he wants a fuckbuddy or a friend or even a girlfriend. Help?" I waved a piece of toilet paper as a white flag. I was done resisting her help. She checked the digital clock beneath the bar.

"Its 4:30. We have half an hour. Sit." She pointed to an empty bar stool. I sunk my shoulders back and waited for her onslaught. "Bella," She said rather calmly. "You are an idiot." I was expecting that. "You are an idiot for sending him away." That, I was _not_ expecting. I snapped my head up.

"Er, what?" My head was reeling for an explanation.

"The way he looked at you, it said everything. Bella, he doesn't want to sleep with you, well not _yet_. He wants to get to know you. I think you've changed him a little." The word 'confused' must have been written on my forehead in wide-tip sharpie.

"Wharara?" I stuttered quietly.

"Basically, you need to give him another chance. Trust me, I don't like him one bit, but you can't be a bitch if he's trying to be honest with you. I've been around guys a lot longer than you," Ouch, she hit me in my confidence's weakest point: men. "So I know that look when I see it." I was stunned by Rose's defense of Edward.

"I guess I let the fear of being seen as one of his flings kept me from seeing that." I admitted rather reluctantly. I started to panic, and my over-analysis kicked into over-drive. "Should I call him? You know, to apologize?" My face grew hot as I thought about having to dial his sister's number and asking to speak to him. That would be thoroughly embarrassing.

"Shut up. You will do nothing of the sort. You will wait until his show on Friday and catch him before he leaves. You don't want to sound completely desperate do you? It's clear that he enjoys girls who play hard to get. I suggest going that route before anything serious happens."

"What do you mean by 'anything serious happens'?" She was really making my head spin at this point.

"I mean don't fall in love with him, Bella." Her look was stern and concerned. "He is nothing but bad news. Have fun with him while you can, but don't do anything you'll regret later." And with that, she walked to the opposite end of the bar to serve a weekly regular.

_Fall in love with Edward Cullen? I almostfell off my stool in laughter at the thought. Impossible. _

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**Bella is still too stubborn to see the truth, and Edward has some work to do (he's spoiled with easy girls). Please don't hate me for this chapter!  
**

**Plaaaylist: Starlight by Muse. --Kind of my anthem here. **

** Just Keep Breathing by Automatic Loveletter.  
**


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm mega sorry about this coming so late. All complaints should be sent to the specific circle in hell where the creator of the SAT resides. Thank you for your cooperation. Anyways, I've been crazy busy and writing has unfortunately been put on the back-burner :/ I'm hoping to have Chapter 6 done by the end of this weekend, depending on how exams go.  


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EPOV**

She threw a towel at me. _Who throws a towel, really?_

My ego's wings were clipped and I proceeded to fall; flat on my face. I just stood there, I couldn't move. It's like she rammed my Volvo into a goddamn tree. When my senses finally came to, I stormed out of the bar and got into my car, gingerly closing the door, just in case she really did mess with my baby. Merging onto the highway, I revved the engine and took off, my anger fueling the car more than the gas in its tank. My phone rang in my pocket, and it alerted me to my speed, I was edging on 100. I slowed down and parked on the shoulder to check my phone.

**1 New Message: Alice Cullen: Hey where are you? How did she react to second date? Brother, fill me in NOW.**

I groaned at the thought of having to relive my catastrophic attempt at flirting with Bella to my gossip minded sister. She meant well, but she was going to kill me one day. After a final deep breath, I drove home and decided that I needed to hammer everything out on my piano.

After a gruff "Hello" to my parents, I stormed upstairs to my sanctuary. Throwing off my jacket, I grabbed a pencil and my music notebook before sitting down to my piano. I rested my head on the key cover, letting the day sink in. I'd have to be better. Smoother. No, friendlier. But what if she liked bold guys? She seemed to like humor.... God she was the first egg I'd have to spend more than one night cracking.

As usual, without a knock, Alice plowed into my room, her face etched with worry and anger. I smacked my head harder against the key cover, creating a loud 'thud'.

"Edward. Anthony. Cullen. WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?" Her shrill voice screamed so loud our neighbors probably jumped.

"She's not interested." I said flatly. I was not going to tell her how Bella rejected me and how I'd pitifully stood there waiting for her to come crawling back. At this rate, she never would.

"Then you _make_ her interested. Honestly it's not that hard." I looked at her like a wounded puppy, trying to elicit a tiny bit of sympathy from my demon of a sister.

"She threw a _towel_ at me, Alice. That's pretty uninterested." I growled, rising from the piano bench so I towered over her tiny frame. Nothing I did ever intimidated Alice.

"Look, I'm going out with Jasper on Wednesday, I'm going to try and convince him to throw a Fourth of July party for his employees and friends. You will be invited. _Bella_ will be invited. The ambiance of fireworks and alcohol. You kiss her. Are you listening to me? Honestly Edward, if you spent half as much energy as I do in planning your future, you might be getting somewhere with her by now." She scowled and flopped on my bed.

"Alice, Bella will see through it. Besides, she'll only regret it." I couldn't help but dig myself into a deeper and deeper hole.

"Silly boy. You've obsessed over her for months now, taken other girls home to make her jealous, and gone on a lunch date with her. Once. Clearly, you're not trying hard enough." Alice loved to instigate me.

"What should I do?" I asked, utterly defeated by Bella's indifference and resistance, and Alice's determination and never ending energy.

"You two have a lot more in common than you think. I have....sources, and frankly, she needs as much advice as you do at this point. I'm not going to sugar coat it, Edward. Let her approach you. Don't do anything until she makes the first move. You want to know where she stands? Let her show you. And—"

"I _get_ it Alice." I mumbled, tired of her ramblings. "And since when do you date Jasper Whitlock?"

"Rosalie set us up. She's got good taste," She smiled dreamily. I have no idea who this Rosalie chick is, buts if she can take my sister's mind off my life, I'll be forever grateful. "Jasper seems like quite the gentleman." She said while she twirled her black hair in her tiny fingers, obviously going into her land of weddings and shoes and puppies and shit. Tired of her presence, I got up and made for the doorway.

"Edward." She called, causing me to stop in my tracks. I hated that tone, that nagging, parental tone. "You can't keep running. Everything will catch up to you eventually, might as well face it head on."

**BPOV**

Tuesday.

_Ran out of whiskey at the bar again. Forks is definitely a drinking town with a weather problem._

_Jasper's been acting strange all of a sudden, whistling and prancing a little bit. I'm scared._

_Sliced my finger trying to cut limes for drinks. Again. _

_Rose is still goo-goo eyed over Emmett. Makes me a little nauseous every time I hear her sigh. _

_God, I'm a bitter bitch._

Wednesday

"Oh my God, look at Jasper!" Rose hissed under her breath. I looked up from drying glasses only to have my eyes bulge out a little. He was dressed in a sleek black dress shirt with casual slacks and shoes. His hair neatly combed and tamed.

"Hot date?" I called to him as he made for the front door. He smiled wickedly.

"Actually, yes."

Seriously? Was everyone around here getting action except me? _Not fair_, I internally pouted.

"Oh? And who's the lucky lady?" I smirked. Jasper's relationships, although sparse, were always long lasting and deep. If he fell, he fell hard. I only hoped the girl was ready for that type of commitment. Rose shifted uneasily, looking at me as if to gauge my response. Jasper's smile just widened even more.

"Rosie here set me up." He complimented in his southern drawl. "She's a pretty thing named Alice Cullen. I've seen her around the place a few times. Never got the nerve to ask her, though."

No no no no no. Bad Rose. Bad Alice. Seemed like every chance pixie got to interfere with my life, she grabbed and took it for a ride. I kept my face indifferent, trying not to rub my preconceived notions onto Jasper.

"Good luck, then." I relayed, rather detached. He adjusted his shirt collar, still smiling, before hoisting a light jacket over his shoulders. The heavy bar door opened before his hand reached the handle.

If I wasn't so horrified, I might have laughed. Or snorted.

"Now, I'm trusting you with my little sister. Can you handle that?" Edward grilled Jasper, while pixie sat at the bar, spinning in her stool. She reminded me of a little kid in many ways; playful attitude, small frame, childish enthusiasm. She clicked her black ballet flats together before jumping off the stool, annoyed that Edward's interrogation of her suitor had taken more than 3 minutes.

I still couldn't picture him as a protective brotherly figure. He kept surprising me in ways I didn't want to be surprised. I craved for the image of a tail-chasing creep; it made my latest interactions with him a lot easier to deal with. Only when Rose pinched my side did I realize I had been staring at him. Which obviously hadn't gone overlooked by pixie. She smiled at me and I broke my gaze and looked at the clock instead. In my embarrassment, I blushed, my cheeks warm from the heat. As the guys continued to 'talk', she made her way over to my side of the bar.

"I never got a chance to ask you if you enjoyed lunch last Saturday." She chirped. Flustered, I answered lamely.

"Yeah. The food was excellent." Stupid. She wasn't referring to the food. "I had fun." I added, hoping to salvage myself.

"Oh good! We should definitely do it again sometime. Are you free next Saturday too?" This could work to my advantage, if I could get pixie alone, I could really pick her brain about Edward.

I smiled wider than natural, "Sure, that sounds really good. Girls lunch!" I wanted to make sure she didn't invite Edward this time…

Her face fell, but only for a fraction of a second. "Rose, you want to come too?" I didn't want to keep her completely out of the loop; after all, she had saved my butt and my dignity last time I met face to face with a Cullen. Rose nodded, and kept a blank face. I'd have to talk to her later about her strange behavior.

"That sounds perfect. Oh, it looks like the interrogation has ended, I'll see you later, Bella!" She called as she grabbed Jasper by the arm and led him out the bar in a rush of red satin and chiffon. I chuckled softly and went back to my work; I still had a whole shelf-full of glasses to dry. Entirely lost in my work, I forgot my surroundings and started humming lightly, something that always made the time go by. Rose laughed at me as she always did, but louder than usual, and it caused me to look up from my towel. I made a face at her, before hearing someone else laugh. A smooth, velvety laugh. Instantly, my whole face flushed redder than a tomato. Innately, I knew whom that laugh belonged to.

"What are you still doing here? The lovebirds left five minutes ago." I said, trying to redeem some composure.

"I figured I'd keep you girls company for a while, you know, until it gets a little busier around here." He smiled softly, the kind of smile that changes the dimensions of a person's face.

"We're big girls, Edward, we can take care of ourselves." I chided playfully.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to me. Maybe I would take Rose's advice and see how far I could take this. It wasn't my intention to be mean or break him, I just wanted to see how truly interested he was, to test him. I would make sure that I knew his intentions before letting myself be completely exposed to him. I don't lay it all on the line for just anybody.

"You wouldn't turn down a paying customer, would you Bella?" He asked, raising his eyebrow.

"You should stay, a shot of testosterone never hurt on a slow day." Rose interjected, obviously tired of our evasive banter. He shot her a bright smile before sitting on a stool opposite me.

"How've you been?" I asked, trying out my new open mindedness on him.

"Good. But I've been better." He smirked. I hated playing games, but I was going to win this time.

"And when you were 'better'?" His face changed, and he looked lost for words. He swallowed thickly.

"When you didn't hate me." He said flatly. His honesty took me by surprise, and now _I_ was the one searching for a reply.

"I-I don't _hate_ you." I stuttered embarrassingly. His brow creased in thought. I couldn't believe we were having such a private conversation in front of my best friend. It kept my face a permanent shade of pink.

"Shit." I heard Rose curse from the other side of the bar, where the liquor was stored. "How the fuck do we run out of whiskey so fast? Honestly, it's like someone's pouring it down the sink. That shit's expensive." She shot me a pensive glance before grabbing her coat and keys. "Man the bar. I'll be back. If Harry and his gang are coming at 7 as usual, we're going to need more." Next thing I know, I'm alone with Edward Cullen. Surrounded by liquid courage.

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**Originally, I had 5&6 combined into one chapter, but I wanted to update sooner so I split them up. They aren't super important, but they give Edward a little conversation with Bella, to redeem himself in a way. Fourth of July party is coming up, and its going to be a fun one, I promise ;)**

**Suggested songs: "It's Not That Easy" by Erin McCarley, and "Waiting" by Green Day (I imagine this playing in the background of Edward and Bella's chat in the bar).**

**Reviews are as nice as setting the SAT on fire. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello, lovely readerkins. I hope you enjoyed your weekends, I sure did, what with writing this and all. This is a fun chapter, muh dears! Plus a little sexual tension never hurt....right?**

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**EPOV**

Bella and I were alone. Completely and utterly alone. My body hummed and buzzed at my proximity to her, reacting to every movement she made. Her words played over and over in my head: _I don't hate you_. It was a step in the right direction, at least. I smiled and tried to hide my excitement over the fact she didn't want to set me on fire. I needed to make up for lost ground on Monday, but I wasn't sure where to start. Should I apologize for making her uncomfortable? Or would she be over it by now? I decided to let it go, and start from scratch.

"Are you going to buy a drink or what?" She asked, her face and neck still pink from blushing.

"Uh, just a coke." I debate asking for a cocktail, but decided against it. I wanted to be completely coherent as to absorb everything about Bella.

I accept the drink she hands me, and slid a few bills over to her. She raised her eyebrow before picking them up and counting them.

"Here. You gave me too much." She pushed some of the money back at me.

"Consider it a tip. You _do _have to put up with my shitty music every Friday, its time I paid you back for that." She laughed, and shook her head.

"So you're bribing me?"

"I suppose."

"What for?"

"Friends?" I was hoping and praying she wouldn't throw my drink at me and call the cops. Hell, I was expecting the worst. She slid the bills into her back pocket, only making my imagination go wild with fantasies of slipping my hands in those pockets, and just feeling her all over.

"Fine." She drew out the word to fake defeat, but she couldn't hide the blush that was creeping up her neck to her cheeks. I couldn't help but smile at the effect I was having on her. She chewed her lip and shook her head again before going back to her work of drying glasses. Once she finished her last glass, she had no choice but to acknowledge me now. Looking up at me through her lashes, she stuttered a little.

"W-what are you playing on Friday?" Again with the blushing. I loved it.

"Some covers. Nothing original, the guys got fed up with Mike's crap lyrics." I took a long sip from my glass, suddenly thirsty from nerves. I couldn't screw this up. Not again.

"Hmm. Anything I would know?" She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back against the wall.

"Depends. Do you like good music?" This conversation needed momentum, and she seemed to respond to instigation.

"Cullen, you seriously underestimate me." She scoffed and reached down under the counter, giving me full view of her lower back and ass. I had to bite back a groan as I saw a sliver of pale skin peeking out from the gap between her black t-shirt and jeans. Coming back up, she pulled out her ipod, and plugged it into the main speakers. Her lips curled into a crooked smile as she scrolled through songs. Those lips looked delicious. Instinctively I liked my own pair.

"Hungry?" She laughed. Shit, I have to be more careful around her. _Yes, I am hungry. Just not for mushroom ravioli, Bella._

Piano started creeping out from the speakers, a rhythmic repetition. Drums blasted in next, along with a woman's smooth voice.

_And if the timing is right to sneak off into the night,  
I'll let myself to be taken just for the thrill.  
And if I'm given the chance to be a doll in his hands,  
I will be sure to shake the mountains while we dance._

"Oh, you don't know this one?" She mocked, leaning closer over the counter. Clearly, instigation was a two way street. Mirroring her movements, I squinted my eyes at her, leaning ever closer to her face.

"I'm sorry, Bella, I don't listen to _that_ particular style." Her smile corroded into a devilish smirk. _Oh no_. Her eyes flitted down to my lips. _Oh yes. Please?_

"Your loss." She grinned as she broke my gaze and stood up straight, and began scrolling through her play-list again. Trying to be discrete, I adjusted my pants and went back to my Coke.

**BPOV**

Teasing is fun. Teasing Edward Cullen was like getting a bounce house for your birthday. Seeing him tense during our staring match made me giddy. _Stupid inner pre-teen. _ Never before had I had such control over a guy. Not that I'm a control freak or anything, it's just that in my past relationships, I wasn't exactly the one to call the shots (any of the shots). Watching someone react to me made me feel confident after a long bout feeling insignificant.

Forced off my high horse by Rose's return, I unplug my ipod and shoved it back in my bag.

"Hey, Rose. Harry and the boys haven't come in yet." I said, watching relief flood her worried face.

"Thank dear, sweet, baby Jesus. There was a huge line up at the liquor store, Mariners game tonight. Guess what we'll be watching?" She half groaned half sighed. I felt her pain having spent many a summer with Charlie in front of the TV. Flinging her thick golden hair over her shoulder, she started restocking the shelves under the counter. I turned back to Edward, but his face wasn't in the shape that my eyes had left it in. It was like he was putting together a jigsaw puzzle in his head, scanning each piece and carefully selecting its place.

"Earth to Cullen." I waved my hand in front of his glazed-over eyes. He jumped before turning a little red. _Ha! Blushing karma. _

"I should get going." He said curtly before rising at practically tripping out the door. I stared at the door with my head cocked to the side, just trying to figure this guy out. _Spaz_.

"Well, he split fast." Rose chuckled under her breath. "What'd you do, say you want his green-eyed babies?" She grinned with one hand on her hip.

"First, there will be no little Cullen monsters. Second, I don't know what happened. He just went blank and then bolted." I was starting to consider bipolar disorder. How could one person be hot then cold within seconds? _Damn you, Katy Perry._ "Anyways, I see Harry's truck in the parking lot. He should be in soon. I'll get the shot glasses."

Her face fell immediately. Harry Clearwater and a few other older guys from the reservation would come up to Jasper's every Wednesday. It was no secret that Rose was hot, and it was clear that the band of old boys thought so too. To say the least, it made everybody uncomfortable. Especially Emmett, recently.

Wednesday ended un-spectacularly, the usual customers right on time. I got back to my apartment around 2am and started my nightly routine of a bowl of cereal and a shower before reading a few pages of _Pride and Prejudice_ and turning out the lights. My mind wouldn't let me sleep, though. For some godforsaken reason, visions of Edward licking his lips kept forming on the back of my eyelids. _Get out of my head! _ I was clearly delirious. Throwing my light blankets off, I ran my fingers through my messy hair, letting out a breath I didn't know I was holding in. After splashing some cold water on my face, sleep was impossible. Not caring what the time-stamp would say, I shot an email to my mom and a slightly less colorful one to my dad, detailing my pathetic life so far. Edward omitted. Giving up on relaxing, I busied myself organizing my DVDs and CDs. Alphabetical by release date. Yeah, nightly OCD is fun. Eventually, after what felt like an eternity, the sun rose and it gave me the excuse to eat breakfast and begin my day.

"Please Bella? I'll totally make it up to you, I promise. We can go to what ever restaurant you want." I smacked my hand down on my kitchen counter. For ten minutes, Rose had been trying to convince me to double with her Emmett and Edward. Not going to happen.

"Rose, for the last time, I'm not going to sit across from his smug face all night and watch him undress me with his eyes."

"I'll pay." Dammit. Rose sure knew how to bargain with me. Her paying for dinner meant I could get anything I wanted without feeling guilty, because Rose had money coming out of her asshole. Yeah, that rich.

"Fine. But I'm ordering steak And maybe lobster." I quickly hung up the phone and called Alice. I was going to need help with this one.

"No, not black. We don't want you to disappear under the mood lighting." Alice threw my last outfit into the reject pile. Something told me I wasn't the first to experience her 'fashion rehab'.

"I guess that means I'm going to dinner naked." I pointed to the huge pile on my bed, mostly consisting of over sized hoodies and t-shirts.

"Ha, Edward would love that. I'll let you borrow something of mine. We're," She appraised my figure with an unforgiving finger point. "We're _roughly_ the same size. The dinner is tonight, right?' I nodded solemnly and started hauling clothes back into my closet. She had her cell phone out in a flash and was dialing at the speed of light.

"Hi mom, is it okay if I bring a friend over for a few hours? Perfect! Alright, we'll be right over." She flicked her phone shut and smiled so big I thought her cheeks would crack. "You'll love my closet." And with that she dragged me out of my house and into her shiny black Mercedes.

I started wringing my fingers as Alice pushed the gas pedal to the floor. If Edward calls this grandma driving, I am _never_ getting into a car with him. "Is your entire family going to be home?" I asked nervously. I did _not_ want to cross paths with her brother until it was absolutely necessary.

"Relax Bella, they'll love you." She pulled up a long tree-lined driveway until I caught sight of their house. I'm sorry, did I say house? I meant _mansion._

"Does just your family live here? Or is it like an apartment?" Surely four people couldn't occupy _that _much space. Alice just giggled and shook her head.

"Come on, my mom is dying to meet you." I stopped dead in my tracks.

"You-you talk about me?" My face flushed red instantly.

"Well, sometimes I do, and sometimes Edward does." Is it possible for a human to turn more red than crimson? Because I definitely think I broke a record in hue transformation. I took a calming breath before forcing a smile. Alice unlocked the massive doors and flung them open to reveal a brightly lit foyer with an impressive chandelier hanging over our heads. She took my coat as I shuffled out of my Chucks, nearly falling over in the process.

"Alice, is that you?" A soft feminine voice called from what I presumed was the kitchen, but the whole damn house had its own echo, so it was impossible to tell. Alice had to pull me out of my dazed state and into the main living room, which was stylishly furnished with modern couches and chairs. Not to mention the ridiculously large flat-screen TV hanging over a brick fireplace.

"Alice, your house is amazing." I breathed.

"I know!" Was her modest response. "And you haven't even seen the upstairs yet." She winked at me and turned me around to face a small, smiling woman. She was incredibly beautiful with caramel waves flowing down to her shoulders and sparkling blue eyes. She rushed towards us and pulled me into a warm hug.

"You must be Bella! Welcome. Can I get you anything to drink, dear?"

"Oh, no thank you." I flustered at her hospitality. I was getting way too used to living on my own.

"You girls let me know if you need anything." With a soft smile she floated out of the room.

Alice rolled her eyes. "Come _on_, it could take all day to find an outfit for you." Joy to me.

After an hour and a half, we had gone through Alice's 'casual closet'. As far as I'm concerned, a person should only have _one_ closet.

"What restaurant did you say you were going to?" Her tiny head was shoved into a drawer, and I could barely make out what she was saying. Suddenly a blue article of clothing flew past my head, followed by a barrage of brightly colored swatches.

"The Horse and Feather. So, kind of upscale." I groaned at the look she gave me. "That doesn't mean I have to wear a dress." I mumbled.

"Oh yes it does! Saturated colors look so good next to your skin, you should wear more blues, greens, and golds."

"Should I be taking notes?" I joked, but the look she gave me was serious.

"If that's what it'll take to get you out of sweatshirts, then yes. Here, try this." She handed me an emerald halter dress with a black cardigan and ridiculously high-heeled sandals.

"Um Alice, I reserve the right to veto these shoes." Not needing to explain further, she tossed me a pair of black flats, which I barely caught. She turned her back so I could change, and the more layers I put on, the better I felt. The dress was knee-length and was pleated down from an empire waist. I recognized the color, but wouldn't let myself admit what it was that it reminded me of. With a deep breath, I told her to turn around.

High pitched squealing resonated throughout her spacious bedroom, followed by the sound of running footsteps.

"Alice, is everything okay?" A silky voice called from the other side

"We're fine, dad." Alice giggled. "Just a little make-over, that's all."

I chewed my lip as I stared at myself in the mirror, and it surprised me how a simple piece of clothing could make me feel suddenly confident. I would need confidence for tonight, and if this dress helped, I'm not sure Alice would be getting it back. The way she danced and laughed, I really don't think she cared if she did.

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**Yes, the next chapter is the date. Not sure how I want it to end exactly, if you have any ideas as to how the date should end, def let me know. I appreciate it greatly :) *The song in this chappy is "The Boys Are Too Refined" By The Hush Sound* I highly recommend it, it makes me feel high when I'm feeling low. **

**I honestly believe that Edward Cullen can win a staring contest with my cat. And she's damn good.  
**


	7. Chapter 7

**The long awaited date scene is here! I promise the Fourth of July party is in the next chapter. Hope I don't disappoint :)**

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**EPOV**

_One hour and twenty-five minutes. Twenty-four minutes._ Staring at the alarm clock, my eyes grew blurry and red.

"Ediieeeeeboy!" Emmett boomed from downstairs.

He _should_ be happy about this dinner; he would most likely be getting some at the end of the night. I groaned: _One hour and twenty-three minutes._ My door burst open; I'm pretty sure the hinges buckled a little.

"Dude, you haven't even showered yet?" He sniffed the room patronizingly and let out a laugh that came from his belly. Typical grizzly bear Emmett.

"Just give me a sec okay?" I fumbled off my bed and turned on my stereo, letting Incubus drown out everything but the shower's steam. I dressed quickly, opting for a nice pair of khakis and black dress shirt.

"When are we picking up the girls?" I asked; my stomach uneasy and excited at the thought of seeing Bella in something more feminine than an old band t-shirt. He shot a wad of paper at my alarm clock swearing about missing the waste basket. _One hour and fifteen minutes._

"In like an hour. You wanna' pre-game?" He wiggled his eyebrows at me but I waved him off. I had too much at stake to get smashed, plus I've been told I'm a flirty drunk. Not what I needed right now.

I couldn't believe it took me so long to connect the dots. Rose was Bella's co-worker. She had been talking to Alice, and had set her up with Jasper. Rose had also been feeding Bella information she obtained from Alice. Information most likely having to do with me. _Was that egotistical or what?_ Maybe they were just talking shoes. Doubtful, Bella's classic Chucks didn't suggest even a hint of a separate shoe closet like the one Alice had filled to the brim. Raking my hands through my hair, I tried to push all of the bad things Bella could be thinking about me right now. _Is it possible to have a re-first impression?_ If so, I needed to make this good.

"What is with you, man? I know you've been eying Bella for months, but damn it's just dinner." Emmett had everything so easy.

"Yeah and if I fuck up dinner, I can kiss my chances with her good-bye." My eyebrows knit together as I tried to think of a good opening line. _Bella, you look good enough to eat._ No. _I bet that dress looks just as good on you as it does on my floor._ Definitely not.

"She's not going to bite, Eddie. It's funny; Edward Cullen the womanizer has finally had the tables turned on him." He was right about that. Suddenly the hunter had become the hunted.

"Let's play a little Halo before we have to swim in estrogen." If anything took my mind off girls, it was going ape-shit and shooting aliens.

"Shit." Emmett breathed as he checked his phone. "5:30 already." The cold fear from earlier today grasped me and I froze. _Ten minutes_. He stopped me as I was putting on my coat. "Do you mind if we take separate cars?" No doubt he wouldn't want to bum a ride if he was taking Rose back to his place.

"Yeah, fine." My insides simultaneously jumped for joy and screamed in horror. Bella and I would be alone together. In my car.

_Nine minutes._

Emmett went to pick up Rose while I drove to get my date; my Bella. _My Bella? I liked the sound of that. _I pulled into her gravel driveway, and half wondered if she still lived with her dad. The place looked homely, like it had been lived in for years, something you'd expect a middle-aged couple to live in.

_Maybe he carried a gun_.

I realized I was stalling, playing with the lock on my car door. Without giving it a second thought, I pushed the door open and strode up to her place, took a deep breath, and rang the doorbell.

I heard a small crash and a muted 'Shit!' which of course made me smile. She could always make me smile. I could see her figure from behind the lacy cloth covering on the small window of the door. My heartbeat became irregular and fast, and I regretted wearing such a warm jacket in June as I began to sweat. I tried to keep my composure, shifting my weight as I anxiously waited for her to open the door.

She swung it open and turned her back on me, slipping on a shoe while holding onto a bookcase. The green of her dress made the milky white of her calves and shoulders glow; I couldn't stop staring at her legs. Long, lean, and elegant. I swallowed thickly when the smell of strawberries hit me, soft and comforting. Her hair was tousled carelessly which made it look even hotter. God, her eyes looked smoldering with the traces of makeup she wore.

"Alice." She rolled her eyes and pointed to her body. I'd have to thank the little squirt later.

She smiled and locked up before laughing and pointing at my car.

"What? You didn't expect me to have some girly Mini Cooper did you?" She shook her head and giggled some more. _So fucking cute._

**BPOV**

It hit me that I'd have to be in the car with him. Alone. The thought of being so close to him made my skin turn to goose-flesh. I remembered the first night I met Alice, and laughed at the thought that I'd be going back on my promise not to be in a car with him. I hated speed.

"I promised myself not to get into your car."

"Why?" He asked incredulously.

"If you drive anything like Alice does, I'll probably go sailing through the windshield." He smirked cheekily before opening the passenger door for me.

"I'll try to be good." He whispered into my ear as I slid into the seat. I shivered involuntarily; suddenly aware of the affect he had on me. I bit my lip and closed my eyes as his scent danced around me, it was everywhere in his car. Musky, soapy and a little dash of peppermint. The slam of his door closing brought me back to reality.

"Ready?" His long fingers squeezed the gear shift in anticipation.

"Sure." I mumbled. It sucked that he was trying so hard and I wasn't. I felt guilty and overwhelmed.

We drove in awkward silence, me staring out the window at the blurring green that was Forks, and Edward looking straight ahead. I hoped to whatever kind of god there is that the rest of the night wouldn't be like this.

"Ahem." He coughed. "Music?" He pointed to the stereo as we stopped at a red light. The suggestion made me feel immediately at ease.

"I thought you'd never ask." I laughed as I tried to figure out how his complex car stereo worked. He'd obviously had it custom installed. I finally managed to get one of his CDs playing, and soft acoustic guitar flooded the interior of the car. It soothed me to a point where I almost felt optimistic about dinner. Almost.

"Bella. We're here." I didn't realize I had closed my eyes.

"Oh. That was fast. You promised you wouldn't speed!" He just laughed and shook his head like a wet dog.

"I said I'd _try _to be good." He winked. And shit, it made me blush. _Curse my emotionally readable cheeks._

He held his arm out and I awkwardly slipped my hand in his as he pulled me up from the car seat. The brief contact did silly things to my stomach; flitting butterflies tickled my insides. Edward handed his keys to the valet and pressed his hand into the small of my back, guiding me through the restaurant to the table where Rose and Emmett were already waiting.

I greeted Rose with a hug and Emmett with a firm handshake. And I mean _firm._ The man didn't have hands, more like grizzly paws.

"Damn, Bells." Rose whistled. "Who knew you cleaned up so well?" Red. I was eternally red.

"Blame Alice." That was starting to become my mantra these days.

We ordered drinks and sank our teeth into the most heavenly meal imaginable. Thank the good guy upstairs for Rose's ability to pay the check. As dinner winded down, so did the small talk. I had a horrible sinking feeling that the night wouldn't end as well as I thought it might.

**EPOV**

I couldn't take my eyes off of her. Her skin was downright luminous under the soft lighting of the restaurant. I couldn't believe my luck; I was sitting across from a beautiful, vibrant, and interesting woman. Conversation started to dwindle as the waiters cleared our plates, and I started to worry about how awkward it might be on the drive home. Should I offer her drinks later? No, too forward. My stomach clenched at the idea of her rejecting me.

I looked back at Bella, and she was engaged in a debate with Emmett over which Elton John song was the best. I smiled, knowing that the two would fast become friends. A buzzing sound infiltrated the argument and Bella's face froze and turned all shades of red and purple. She broke out into wide laughter and reached into the top of her dress, pulling out her cell phone from her cleavage. _What I would give to be in that phone's place._ I only heard snippets of her discussion; I was too focused on her chest. The dress hugged her curves tightly, and I had no idea how she could fit that phone in there.

"Yes, I promise to call more often. Bye mom." Bella's soft alto floated through my senses.

My trance was broken by Emmett's hands slapping my back.

"Ready to head off and get that ice cream I promised?" He boomed. Emmett loved three things in life: women, guitars, and ice cream. I must have been completely transfixed by Bella's cleavage to not have noticed Emmett's mention of ice cream. I'm such a perv.

I nodded, reverting back to my mute duck phase.

At Peach's Ice Cream we all ordered soft-serve twists with gratuitous amounts of sprinkles. I noticed little things about Bella I hadn't seen at the restaurant; the way she always pushed back a bit of hair from her eyes when she leaned forward, how she licks her lips before each bite of ice cream, and the soft hums she let out as the cool treat melted in her warm mouth. Everything about her drew me in.

"Shit. I left my purse at the restaurant." Rose swore. Her skin tight black dress looked almost incomplete without the obnoxiously bright red purse she'd been carrying around all night. I stifled a laugh when Emmett suggested that the two of them leave to 'make sure his girl got what she wanted'. He winked at me as he shuffled Rose into his Jeep.

The night had grown noticeably cooler, and the ice cream hadn't helped much either. I joined Bella near the railing of the water-side patio. A slight breeze rustled the trees above us, and made strands of Bella's hair fly up and dance. I wanted her more than ever.

"They left in a hurry, huh." She snorted.

"They way those two were eyeballing each other over dinner, I figured they'd wouldn't last long out here." I smiled as she nodded knowingly.

"I'm happy for them." She added, but not convincingly enough. We stood in a comfortable silence, just absorbing each other and the moonlit reflections off the water.

_Kiss her._

She turned and leaned her back against the metal railing, and I mirrored her. She closed her eyes and began mumbling about how this was her favorite season.

"Not hot enough to be Phoenix, but not cold enough to be Forks."

All I could see at that moment were the tiny crests of her nipples that rose through her dress as another gust of cool wind blew across the water. My eyes shot back up to her face, making sure she hadn't seen me stare at them. Luckily, her eyes were still closed. I licked my lips and closed my eyes, imagining all the things I'd like to do to those nipples. I quickly opened my eyes to examine myself; no tent in the pants, luckily.

"Are you cold?" I chocked out.

"Yeah, I am now that you mention it. Do you read minds or something?" She playfully shoved me in the ribs.

"I saw you shiver. That's all." I wrapped my jacket around her shoulders, thankful I'd not left it in the car. I saw her discretely sniff the fabric, emitting a small sigh. I wanted to take her home right then. I didn't want this night to end, it had been the one of the best I'd ever had.

"So, um do you, do you like..." _Think Cullen, what do girls like?_ "Do you like penguins?" I tripped at the finish line. Internal face palm. She stared blankly at me. "You know, the tuxedo birds that waddle?"

"Edward, I know what a penguin looks like." She cracked up, her long hair bouncing down her back. I let her calm down for a few minutes.

"I've only seen one on TV, though." She added.

"Really? Not even in the zoo?" She obviously didn't get out much.

"No. I like animals, just from a distance. There's too much poop involved." She stuck out her bubblegum tongue and I sucked in a short breath to keep myself from lunging at her. _How on earth could it be possible that everything Bella did made me want to kiss her?_

We grew silent again, the summer air thick with the scent of blossoms and water. She looked up at me through her impossibly long lashes.

"Take me home?" I nodded and we slipped into the Volvo's warm interior. The drive was pleasantly quiet, the engine's hum softly echoed, and the gravel crunched under the tires as I pulled into her driveway. My heart fluttered as she peeked a sidelong glance at me, smiling when she saw me look at her too. I walked her to her door, the urge to feel her lips on mine nearly drove me insane.

"Bella?"

"Yes, Edward?"

"Thank you."

"What for?" She giggled slightly.

"For the second chance." Her breath hitched as I leaned in closer and placed a quick kiss on her soft ivory cheek. I grinned like a Cheshire cat and waved 'goodbye' before driving away. I wanted to jump and shout and scream. No feeling could top tonight, I was sure. I knew right then and there, I was in love with Isabella Swan. She could make me feel ridiculous things, and she made me want to be a better person. I didn't stop smiling till the moment I finally slipped into a Bella-induced sleep, full of marvelous dreams.

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**So...? Does you like? Please R&R! If you want to check out my idea of Bella's date outfit, the link is in my profile. There MAY or MAY NOT be snogging in the next chapter. Just sayin'. **


	8. Chapter 8

**This is the first half of the party. Its a little lengthy, and I hope to have the second part up before Wednesday. Also, check out Careful by Babypeach16. That kid is going places. Enjoy.  
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3 weeks later…**

**BPOV  
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"Bella, can you pour some chips into this bowl please?" Alice passed me a massive bowl and I began filling it to the brim with salty goodness.

"Alice, do we really need this much, I didn't think that many people were coming." I couldn't believe the sheer amount of food piled on the long folding tables lined against the fence of the Cullen backyard.

"Have you seen how much Emmett eats?" She raised her eyebrows.

"Point taken." I had practically fallen off my chair when he devoured a 12 oz. strip steak in less than 5 minutes at the Horse and Feather.

Thinking about that night made me smile. I expected the worse and received the best. The best side of Edward I'd ever seen, and the happiest I'd ever seen Rose, too. Edward had gone out of his way to make sure I was comfortable and had a good time, and I caught myself smiling stupidly remembering his kiss on my cheek.

"Bella," Alice waved her tiny hand in front of my face. "You daydream a lot." I blushed.

"Oh, sorry. I guess I'm just excited about tonight." She immediately cornered me up against a table.

"And why is that, Bella dear?" She cooed. I rolled my eyes at her and managed to weave out of her way. "Bellllaaaa, pleeease?" She whined, always eager for gossip.

I sighed. "I haven't exactly been a social butterfly all my life, and it feels good to have friends like you who are willing to invite me out." It was a lie of omission. I really did enjoy the friends I had made in the last month, but I would be kidding myself if I said I wasn't a little excited to see Edward, too.

"Aww Bella! Don't you dare make me cry at a party!" She engulfed me into a hug before running back to the house to fetch more hors d'oeurves. Alice's enthusiasm was truly infectious.

I grinned and thought back to that Thursday night. After our 'pseudo-date', he'd shown up at the bar frequently, just to hang out with Emmett, Rose, and I. On Fridays, after his show, he'd sit with us till closing time. He never took any girls home. _For 3 weeks_. The first night he denied some advances, my mouth hung open with surprise. I never asked him about it though; I figured it was his business, un-Edward like even if it was. When I told Alice for the first time, she just smiled and nodded. I swore that pixie knew something, and was obviously having a hard time keeping it a secret, what with her practically jumping up and humming loudly every time Edward and I would enter a room or look at each other.

"I hope there's some guac back there!" Em's distinctive voice boomed as he busted through the back door and into the yard. Rose followed soon after, rolling her eyes. I laughed as Emmett began stuffing his face with the green dip.

"Emmett! Half the guests aren't even here yet!" Alice shrieked. She smacked his hand when he went in for another chip.

"Aw come on Ali!" He pouted; his dimples disappeared as he stuck out his bottom lip.

"Let my man eat. Plus I brought extra food, just in case." Rose was always prepared, and the thought of her standing up for Emmett made smile, she had clearly found something special.

I took a step back to look at my new group of friends, and for once, I felt whole.

More people began floating into the large lawn that lead back into the shady woods that were virtually everywhere in Forks. Tonight, those woods looked downright mysterious and creepy.

After half an hour, I still hadn't seen Edward, and I started to get nervous. Last night after his show, he told me he'd see me at the party, so I didn't know why I was getting worked up about it. I mean, the party was at _his house._ It wasn't like we were coming together; as a date. _Did I really just think that?_ I shoved a hunk of bruschetta in my mouth to quiet my overactive mind.

I tried to convince Jake to come with me about a week ago, seeing as how Jasper's (Alice's, really) invitations said 'Bella plus one guest'.

"_Gee Bella, I don't really know anybody. Except you." His warm smile didn't really touch his eyes. _

"_You never know, you might have fun!" I poked his ribs, right where I knew he was ticklish, and a booming chuckle erupted from his throat. _

"_I'll think about it. Now quit touching me, you creep."_

Jasper started up the grill, and people began gathering around him with their plates and buns, greedily accepting the delicious looking meats. I made my way over to the line with my plate, groaning at my position; last. And dammit, I was hungry. All the work Alice had me do to set up this party had burned off the small sandwich I'd had for lunch. I felt a hand brush my shoulder, and when I looked up, I saw Edward standing above me, grinning.

"Well, look who decided to show up!"

"I was trying to make up my mind whether or not to come." He mumbled as he joined me in line.

"Alice would have killed you if you didn't." He chuckled loaded his plate with potato salad.

"And that's why I came. That girl has a wrath like nobody's business." I smirked at the image of tiny Alice yelling at Edward. He wasn't huge, but he wasn't slight either. He had a lean muscular build, one that required exploration to fully understand. _God, did I just think about 'exploring his body'?_ I kept my head straight forward, hoping to hide my blush.

"Why wouldn't you have come?" I asked, curious. He shrugged his shoulders and tensed his jaw. It seemed like that was all the answer I'd be getting. I let it drop and plopped a limp spoonful of coleslaw onto my paper plate.

"Plus, I would have missed you." He admitted quietly. I resisted the urge to smile like an idiot.

"Oh? And why is that?" I teased. I could feel how close he was standing, his chest nearly pressing into my shoulders, and the familiar musky peppermint smell radiating from clothing. I felt his hot breath on my neck as he leaned forward, aiming for tongs to grab a roll.

"Because, I like seeing you, Bella." He whispered into my ear. He totally did that on purpose. My breathing started to quicken and I discretely pinched my thigh to make me snap out of it.

"Luckily for you I came, then." I added sheepishly, still under the effect of being so close to him. He backed off for a minute as Jasper asked my grilled preference.

"We have dogs, burgers, and chicken. What's your fancy, Bells?" I could tell he truly felt at home manning a barbecue.

"Burger, please." My mouth started watering as soon as the thing hit my plate. It was possibly the most delicious piece of meat I'd ever seen. I then snickered to myself, dirty mind and all.

"What for you Ed?" I loaded up with condiments not far from Edward and the grill. Sweet relish or horseradish? _Decisions..._

"Chicken."

"Breasts or thighs?" I turned to find Edward stuttering and having serious trouble filling his order.

"Edward," He snapped to meet my eyes. "Answer Jasper, you're holding up the line. Breasts or thighs?" I reiterated.

His eyes widened and he flushed. I suppressed a giggle. I knew exactly what I was doing.

"I'll just take a hot dog." He muttered, clearly embarrassed.

**EPOV**

_Breasts or thighs? _He couldn't possibly mean what I my dirty mind was picturing. Bella, all wrapped up in my white sheets, her dark hair spilling over her shoulders and hovering just above her nipples. I shook my head to clear the vision away. _Breasts _and_ thighs, dammit. _I'm a greedy bastard.

I hoped the red had faded from my cheeks, and took off looking for a place to sit. I couldn't bear to be near Bella right now, just the scent of her shampoo was enough to set my mind off on some very dirty tangent involving her and some whipped cream.

I had spent all afternoon debating coming tonight. I even went so far as to plan a night out in Seattle, to escape the festivities going on in my own backyard. It wasn't that I didn't want to see my friends, or Bella. I was afraid that Jasper or Alice would haphazardly invite a past mistake of mine, in the form of Tanya Denali. She was the living, breathing, anti-Christ to my own personal hell. I shuddered as I pictured her ice blue eyes boring into mine as she slapped my face hard. It was the last time I had spoken to her, and I planned on keeping it that way. I wouldn't let even the thought of Tanya ruin this party for me. Things had been going so well between Bella and I, and it gave me some confidence that she might feel something for me too.

It was uncharacteristically warm. The blue polo I wore, as per Alice's request that everyone wear red, white, or blue, itched uncomfortably at my neck. I was surprised that people actually adhered to the color scheme. People began filling in the numerous lawn chairs that formed a large circle around the yard. I could see Alice and Jasper, smiling and talking quietly, Rose was laughing at Emmett as he stuffed two hot dogs in his mouth like tusks, but Bella was missing from the almost perfect picture of summer. I picked at my food and resorted to sulking; something I had become quite talented at.

"Um, is this seat taken?" I looked up from my potato salad to see Bella standing above me, looking awkward and adorable; as always.

"Nope." I smiled just to have her near. She seemed uneasy, and it was throwing me off. Maybe I was becoming tied to her emotions? _Creepy, Cullen. _She plopped down next to me, sitting with her legs crossed.

"Good food, eh?" She laughed nervously at the ridiculously uncomfortable banter we had going.

"Jasper's the best." It was like we were in our own bubble, none of the party noise or chatter could penetrate it and it was only us. And I was ruining it. "So, you went with red, huh."

"Yeah, well I blush too much so I figured this would make it less obvious." She smirked and pointed to the red v-neck t-shirt that fit her like a glove. I blinked quickly, hoping to avoid staring at the tiny bit of cleavage she sported.

"Edward, fancy seeing you here!" The voice sent shivers up my spine. The rich honey voice was unmistakably Tanya. I unintentionally cringed and kept my face squared in Bella's direction.

"Tanya." I cursed myself for even acknowledging her.

"Aren't you going to introduce me to your little friend, darling?" She purred. Bella's face fell infinitesimally, but I couldn't help but notice the change.

"Bella, this is my _friend_ Tanya, Tanya Denali. Tanya, this is Bella Swan." I tried to stress the extent of my dealings with T-bitch, as I affectionately called her. In my head. I was too chickenshit to actually say it to her face. And that's probably why she never took the hint that I wasn't interested in the least.

"Nice to meet you." Bella muttered diplomatically. I could see Tanya's wheels turning, and I feared the worst for Bella.

"Oh but Bella! The pleasure is _all mine_." She sneered, territorial. I felt her spiny hands grip my shoulder, and the physical contact made me shudder.

"I'm sure it is." Bella whispered, more than likely it wasn't meant for anyone to hear. But the hurt in her voice was clear. I felt like a complete asshole. I now had a bit of proof of her feelings for me. Too bad it took T-bitch's arrival for me to figure it out. I had no idea how to diffuse the situation. I wanted desperately for Tanya to leave and never show her sleazy face again. I wanted more than anything for Bella to see the truth; that I was crazy about her. _Her._ Not Tanya.

"Did I miss the fireworks?" Tanya slurred, laying on the innuendo thick. I didn't bother answering her, it would only egg her on. I instead focused on the lazy swirls and waves of Bella's hair, cascading down her shoulders and curling at the ends. I longed to run my hands through her hair, to feel how soft I was sure it had to be.

There really must be a God. Because that moment Alice grabbed Tanya by the arm and lead her to where the sparklers were being handed out and lit.

"You were asking about fireworks?" Alice asked. I love my crafty, diabolical, amazing sister. I turned back to Bella, who was getting up to leave.

"Wait, where are you going?" She stared blankly at me.

"More food." She mumbled. Her plate was almost full, save for the massacred apple she'd been picking at. My stomach sank. I had really fucked up this time. I sat stunned. _How could things go so horribly wrong?_

A small crowd gathered in front of my view of her, effectively blocking her path from me. She got away. _No, I let her walk away._ I was a coward and a half. Sick and frustrated with myself, I left the party for the quiet of my room. I buried my head in my pillow and let the infuriated silence overwhelm me.

**BPOV**

Things were going so well. The food was excellent, and people were dressed from head to toe in red, white, or blue. I didn't doubt that Alice would treat her parties as seriously as she did her wardrobe. She had on a delicate white strapless dress with a ruffled front, reined in by a soft bow. I didn't know how she could possibly flit around the yard in her white satin stilettos. Nobody could top her look, and she knew it. Well, Rose probably could, but she was more of a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl, who didn't mind getting dirty under the hood of a car. Emmett struck gold with her.

And then she showed up. She was stunning, billowy strawberry blond hair, perfect heart shaped face, and a body that supermodels maim themselves to get. I was stupid for letting him break down my defenses, for letting him make me feel things for him that I knew I shouldn't feel. Her blue eyes cut through my confidence. Instead of focusing on her, I poked and prodded at my apple with my fork, stabbing it over and over. The apple was mangled and everywhere when I finally looked up at them. She called him _darling._ The word felt all wrong, it was itchy and rough in my ears. It didn't deserve to come from her lips.

"Bella. This is my _friend,_ Tanya. Tanya Denali, this is Bella Swan." He emphasized friend. That was all I was to him. My insides burned, it was better that way, to be friends. I was a stupid romantic fool, and he had dating ADD. I don't remember saying anything, but I distinctly remember her talking about pleasure. And that's when I knew I had to leave. Then she mentioned fireworks, I'm sure she meant for me to hear the innuendo. I'd had enough of Edward flaunting his past conquests, and I silently refused to become one of them, however much I wanted to be. It wasn't right, and I wasn't that girl. I went to leave, but he stopped me, pulling on my elbow. I lamely mentioned food and took off in the direction with the most people, hoping to either lose myself in the crowd, or find Rose. I wanted to go home, but Alice had given me a ride over, so I'd have to hike the close to 10 miles back to my house, and that was out of the question. Reluctantly, I stepped inside the massive house, hoping that a few minutes alone would help me regain some composure.

Alice really hadn't given me a tour of the place, so I figured that now would be the best time; if there ever was a best time. I found the kitchen easily; it had to be one of the largest rooms in the house. The shiny new appliances captivated me, and made my fingers twitch. I loved to cook, but Charlie's old cramped kitchen left my culinary imagination rather dry. Here, I could cook for hours. I ran my fingers across the smooth marble counter top, and sighed at the cool touch. I wondered if the Cullens would mind terribly if I started baking cookies. I didn't give it another thought before rummaging around to find measuring cups and baking sheets. I had been over with Alice quite a lot the past few weeks, and Esme treated me as if I was her own daughter, I'm sure she wouldn't mind.

After struggling to find the electric mixer, and accidentally sending several metal mixing bowls over the counter with a stray elbow, I was plopping big dollops of chocolate chunk cookie dough onto a large baking sheet. I had the recipe memorized; it was Renee's favorite, the one she'd ask for after her first day of working on a new hobby. With the cookies safely baking, I found my hands wandering and bored. They took me up the large spiral staircase, gripping the banister. I knew Alice's room was on the second floor, as well as a half bath, but other than that, the rest of the house was unknown to me.

I quickly found a guest bedroom, another bathroom, and what looked like an office. I wanted to explore the office more, but I knew it belonged to Mr. Cullen, and I hadn't met him yet. Plus the space felt very personal. The wall to wall bookshelves gave me serious book lust, though. I was about to head back to the stairs to check out the third floor, when I heard it.

Sad and soulful piano drifted down from the third floor. They pulled me subconsciously up each step, closer to the source. I had never heard anything like it. It was frustrated yet beautiful at the same time. Much the way I felt about Edward. In the back of my mind I knew it was him, but I wouldn't let myself believe it. How could such a spineless jerk play something so emotional and real?

I reached the top of the stairs and began searching for the source of the music. I passed two closed doors, one matched the rest of the dark wood throughout the house. The other was painted white and had a key hole in the knob. I chewed my lip as I decided whether or not to go further. I could tell the music came from behind the white door. But I didn't trust myself to not feel disappointed if I found the door locked. Just as my hand reached for the knob the music stopped mid crescendo. Inside I panicked; _did he know I was here?_ But I didn't move, I stood frozen, waiting for him to make the first move. I heard the click of the door being unlocked. I turned to race down the stairs, I was too embarrassed to face him after intruding on what was definitely a private moment for him.

"Wait." He whispered.

"I-I'm sorry." I stuttered and took another step towards the stairs. I felt a gentle tug on my arm, and saw the pale slender fingers clasping me. The slid down my arm to my wrist and locked between my own digits.

"I want to show you something." He breathed.

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**Yes, sorry, that's a cliffy. **

**Review please. :)  
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	9. Chapter 9

**I've been dying to write this chapter, its the first scene I envisioned when I got the idea for this story. **

**On a side note, Lady Gaga is queen of all things wonderful, fascinating, and strange. That is all.  
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**BPOV**

"_I want to show you something."_

I was sure that wherever he led me, I would follow. The familiar pull of his body kept me following him as he opened the white door. Inside sat a massive and elegant grand piano, sheet music spread over the floor and every surface was covered in shiny CD's. A little path of carpet led to the bench, and it was white just like everything in the room; except the piano.

"You and Alice are the only people to ever see this room. Well, besides me." He laughs nervously.

"Alice?" This room surely didn't seem like a place he'd want his prying sister.

"She copied my key in the middle of the night." He rolled his eyes dramatically. That sounded just like Alice, and I smirked at the thought of her double-oh-seven tendencies. He sat at the bench and played a simple scale, and I became mesmerized by the way his fingers seemed to float across the keys, never touching them fully. I felt like I was intruding, I could never possibly understand what this room meant to him, so I stayed still in the doorway.

He looked up from his hands, and waved me over to sit next to him. I hesitated, not sure if I could navigate the sheet music jungle that was the floor.

"Bella, will you sit with me?" His question was loaded with meaning. His eyes were pleading, but I'm not sure if I'm willing to give him another chance. Of course Tanya showing up wasn't his fault, unless he invited her. My face burns when I realize he probably forgot that I'd be at the party and invited her instead.

"Edward, I-I should get back to the party. And so should you. _People_ are probably looking for you." She's waiting, at least. The only things waiting for me are the cookies downstairs.

"Please." The force of his gaze made me tongue tied; I relented and sat on the edge of the bench with him. As far away as I could.

"Um. Closer?" He whispered as a rosy flush spread on his face. I scooted an inch over in his direction. He cleared his throat and offered his hand. _Is he asking to shake?_ I gave him my hand and I squawked when he pulled my body flush with his. I'm pretty sure he laughed. My face was aflame.

"Much better." He smiled and turned back to the keys. His fingers danced, creating soothing sounds. I closed my eyes. The music sounded like a lover professing their greatest desires, and reassuring their partner that everything would be alright. The melody was calm and caring, full of deliberate sweetness. It was breathtakingly beautiful. For a moment I thought I had slipped into a dream where I wondered across a calm ocean, a warm breeze rustling my hair. Slowly, peacefully, the notes faded, and I knew I had to open my eyes. When I did, his warm chartreuses were fixed on my browns. It was fitting, complex and dazzling green meeting plain, boring, frumpy brown.

"That, was beautiful, Edward." I exhale, unaware that I was even holding my breath. His smile sent a million tiny electric currents through my body. I'm not sure when my feelings about him changed; it seemed like that for so long all he'd been to me was a pain in my ass. But somewhere, he became more. He found a way inside my head, and made himself at home without me knowing. The pull between us was much stronger now, I'm sure he could feel it.

"You really like it?"

"Of course! What song is that, I want to put it on my ipod." Embarrassingly, I'd probably listen to it before bed. His cheeks rivaled mine in color and heat.

"I, um I wrote it." He stared at his fingers, which were resting in his lap. His head snapped up in the silence. "But I can record it for you, if you want." Seeing him flustered and exposed gave me power, like I was the only one to have ever seen him like this. It gave me a strange confidence.

"I'd really like that." I gave him my best flirty smile, but with my lack of experience in this field, it probably looked like a creepy clown grin. I scooted closer to him on the bench, relishing in the magnification of the current.

"So," We awkwardly said at the same time. Nervous laughter.

"You first." I whispered. Bravely, I took his hands off of his lap and examined their shape and contour as he spoke.

"I want to apologize. For a lot of things, actually. One, I'd like to apologize for giving you the wrong impression about me." I couldn't make sense of it; he'd really done nothing wrong. "I can understand why you were so adverse to me when we first met." He shook his head and attempted to remove his hands from mine, but I held them in place, silently telling him to continue. "I'd also like to apologize for Tanya. It would make me the happiest person in the world if I never saw her face again. I'm really sorry you had to see that."

My insides wanted to jump for joy. But I resorted to stroking his pinky with my index finger. I couldn't help but smile, they were the same size.

"Nobody, not even the rain, has such small hands." He murmured. A slow, lazy smile spread across my face.

"e.e. cummings. You keep surprising me, Edward Cullen."

"Good." He smiled and if it was at all possible, slid closer to me. We sat in easy silence, just being close and stroking hands. It felt natural and just _right._

"Bella?"

"Mm?"

"Tell me about yourself. I want to know everything." The pure childish curiosity of his question caught me off guard.

"Well, I don't have a very interesting life."

"What's your favorite color?"

"Green." I blurted out unthinkingly. I groaned internally, hoping that he didn't know that up until now, my favorite color had been blue.

The questions started off easy and to the point. _What's your favorite book? What's your favorite time of day?_ But they got deeper, harder to explain.

"What's your fondest memory of Arizona?" He seemed to be a sponge, absorbing my entire existence with his ears and eyes.

"Probably the smells." He cocked his eyebrow in eternal interest. "Well first there's the creosote, which sounds funny but it grows on you. Even the dirt has its own smell, rusty almost. But my favorite is my mom's cooking experiments. Everyday I'd come home from school and try to figure out what concoction she had brewed."

"Do you miss your mother?"

"More than anything. We're polar opposites, but I think that's why we work together so well."

"Tell me everything about her." He was leaning much closer now, his face hovering only inches from mine. And the thoughts I was having certainly didn't involve Renee right now. More along the lines of tackling him on the bench and sucking his face off. I stumbled to regain composure.

"Uh well, she uh, she married my dad right out of high school. The early days of my life and their marriage were spent in Forks, in the house that I live in now, actually. Renee was never meant for small town life; her personality simply wouldn't allow it, so she divorced my dad and whisked me off to Phoenix."

"And now?" His lips could brush my forehead if I moved even a centimeter closer.

"Both of my parents remarried. Renee is happy with Phil in Florida, and Charlie has Sue in Oregon. I guess life has a way of sorting its self out in the end."

"I couldn't agree more, Isabella." He whispered. The formal use of my name, especially in this context, made me involuntarily shiver. He must have noticed. He closed the short distance between us and I could feel his warm breath on my lips, ready and waiting and _**BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.**_

"God fucking damn." I hissed. I stood up far too quickly, and the dizziness took me by surprise. So did Edwards hands that came out to catch me.

"Bella, what is that awful, awful noise?" He scowled.

"Cookies?" I smiled sheepishly.

**EPOV**

I was slowly piecing together the puzzle that was Isabella Swan. And maybe, just maybe, she felt the same depth that I did. Getting that fucking close to kissing her made me absolutely insane. Just sitting that close to her made my pants tight, and that tease of a kiss killed me and Edward Jr. I was afraid of standing up. _Don't worry, Bella, I just have a ruler in my pocket. Never know when you might need one. _

Furthermore, I couldn't get enough of her. I wanted to _know _her. I wanted her story, and to catalog it right next to mine, hoping they would intertwine. Everything about Bella was fascinating, right down to the way she described the attributes of a cactus over a fir tree. Her tiny hand still held mine, and I wasn't complaining. She hadn't been mad about Tanya, and I was sure that she _wanted_ to hold my hand. And that was victory enough for me.

We walked downstairs and the cozy smell of chocolate chip cookies hit me like a brick wall. I moaned a little, but it earned a giggle from Bella, so it wasn't that embarrassing.

"Sweet Jesus! These are fucking delicious Bella." It was like heaven and sex had a baby and named it chocolate. And she blushed crimson. _That's my girl._

"I got pretty good at cooking, Renee was too distracted and Charlie is just hopeless." She shrugged and munched quietly on her cookie. I could eat this girl alive. We kept talking for what seemed like minutes, but when I checked the party from the kitchen window, the sky had already turned an inky blue. We had been talking for close to 3 hours.

"Bella, do you want to watch the fireworks?"

"I'd like that." She smiled my favorite smile and we joined the rest of the party outside around the gazebo near the woods. The grass was slightly damp from the rain the night before, so I laid my hoodie on the ground for us to sit on. I've seen a million guys in a million movies do it, but before now, I've never _wanted_ to do it for someone. I wanted to do so many things for Bella, because she made me want to be better. A better person, son, brother, and possibly a pretty good boyfriend. Alice bounded over to us and deposited a back of snappers.

"Enjoy." She winked. Little demon. Bella dug into the bag and started whipping the little explosives at the nearby garden stones. Little flickers of light reflected back on to her face, highlighting her cheeks and lips. _So soft._ Somehow the dynamic shifted, and it was completely natural feeling to have my arm draped over her shoulder, her body tucked into mine. We were laughing like 10 year olds, throwing the snappers closer and closer to the gazebo where another couple sat making out furiously. She flung one dangerously close, and it popped and flashed next to the girl's foot, causing her to scream and shriek.

"Shit!" Bella giggled.

"Quick! Get into Bond mode!" I wrapped my arms around her slim waist and laid her flat on her stomach, I mirrored her position next to her on the jacket.

Her body was shaking with laughter, her face shoved into the crook of her arm to keep from laughing.

"Shh! They'll hear!" I whispered. I pushed her face into my chest to muffle the eruption of giggles that was coming from Bella. After a few minutes she seemed to calm down, and the little silvery paths of her tears were almost dried. Her breathing hadn't slowed though, and having her body pressed into mine, I was having a hard time controlling myself, too. Her peachy lips were too fucking inviting. I wanted to do this right. I had to, she was my everything now.

"Bella, be mine. Be only mine." I breathed into her hair.

She answered in the best way possible. Her kiss was soft and warm and so welcoming. I matched her speed and pressure, letting the charged air carry us. Each contact of skin sent sparks flying from my chest to the pit of my stomach right down to a very eager Edward Jr. I couldn't help but smile into the kiss. She was_ mine._ I tangled my fingers in her hair and she coiled her thin arms round my neck, locking us into place. Her pace was quickly becoming frantic, so licked her lips and was granted access to her open mouth, my tongue seeking hers involuntarily. It seemed that many a late night fantasy was coming true. But none of them could ever compare to the real thing. Reluctantly, I broke away to come up for air. The smile didn't leave my face, though.

"Maybe we should get back? I'm sure Rose will be looking for me." She sighs. I grabbed her hand, and was rewarded with a perfectly Bella smile, soft and simple. The thing I loved most about her was the fact that she didn't try. She didn't have to. Her way about things exuded pure enthusiasm and she did things because she wanted to. And she was with because she wanted it. And that's the greatest joy I've known.

"Well look at you two!" Alice winked and handed us beers.

"Thanks, I was really thirsty." And with that Bella guzzled the drink, surprising me completely.

"Slow down there, tiger. The night is still young." I peeled the bottle from her hands, causing a resolve melting pout from Bella. This was going to be a long, wonderful night.

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**Let's make a deal, yeah? You review, and I'll provide some possible lemons down the way. Sound good?**


	10. Chapter 10

**BPOV**

_Shit, it feels like my head was smashed with a brick. _

Slowly and groggily, my consciousness returned. Light blinded me even with my eyes closed. I thrust the blankets over my head to stay in my comfy dark cave.

This wasn't my bed.

It smelled like _him._

_Oh God, it's _his_ bed. _

I sat up straight like a shot, regretting it instantly when my brain decided to smack itself against my skull. My vision cleared and shapes started forming. Big, white bed. Sprawling black shelves filled with music. Massive stereo system. Tall, elegant windows. Long white leather sofa with—

_Oh my. _

A half naked, sleeping, Edward Cullen. My eyes took a delicious ride down his bare back and boxer-covered ass. The view was nice and all, but I had a bad feeling about this. _Please don't let me have slept with him. Not yet. _I didn't even verbally express our situation last night before attacking his mouth, and now I seriously hoped that my brain was more in control than my ovaries.

_How the hell did I get here?_ I remembered Tanya, being in the piano room, cookies, fireworks, _that kiss_, and not much else. A breeze blew in through the open window, chilling me. No wonder I was cold, I was wearing a silky black night-dress that certainly wasn't mine. _Alice. _The holes in my memory were really starting to become an issue.

My clothes were nowhere to be seen in Edward's room. I prayed that Alice had them and that they aren't strewn about the backyard. I yanked a blanket over me and made my way to his bathroom. Once inside, I realized that I have nothing to change into after my shower. And boy, I _needed_ this shower. I dropped the silky night voodoo contraption outside the bathroom door; keeping it out of my sight kept thoughts of Edward ripping the thing off of me out of my head. I tried to forget about that clothes issue, and instead focus on how the steam of the shower made me feel like I was inside a cloud; soft and untouchable.

**EPOV**

_I'm tangled in Bella's hair. It just as soft as I imagined, but silkier somehow. I inhale the sweet strawberries and feel the cashmere of her skin. _

"_Edward." She breathes. Bella's sigh drives me over the edge and I'm lost. Completely lost in her, and I don't want to ever leave. _

"Edward." My head snapped up from my dream. Bella was still sprawled across my bed, softly moaning my name. A good, long, cold shower looked like the only solution for Edward Jr.'s enthusiasm. I rolled over to face the back of my couch, hoping to lessen the temptation of leaping on her sleeping form. From what she told me last night, her police chief father wouldn't hesitate to classify that as _rape_. I may have a juvenile record, but that's a leap I'm not willing to make, no matter how badly my little friend wants to.

She stirred and I went rigid, hoping that if she thought I was asleep, it would make this morning a little less awkward for her. No doubt she'd have questions. With my head buried in the arm of the couch, I couldn't tell what her reaction was, but I'm pretty sure she mumbled _"Alice"._ My bathroom door slammed and I knew that it was my cue to get my ass out of her hung-over way. I patted myself on the back for managing to stay relatively sober.

I threw on a t-shirt and jeans, but before I could make it out of my room and back downstairs, the bathroom door opened then closed loudly. Dropped on the floor was a tiny, black, silky looking night-dress. My eyes rolled back into my head at the thought of her writhing in my bed, moaning my name, while wearing _that._

_I have to get out of here before I join her in the shower. _

I adjusted my jeans and distractedly made my way to the kitchen for some much needed caffeine. I'm met by Alice, Jasper, Rose and Emmett. I must have been unaware that the party was a two day event, although I wouldn't put something like that past Alice.

"What the fuck are you still doing here?" I snarled in my hoarse morning voice.

Jasper attempted to hide behind Emmett's massive back, but Rosalie pushed him out of the way, securing her own protection.

"You didn't think I'd let them drive home after last night, Edward?" Alice chided me; smiling like just forgot that two plus two equals four.

"Yeesh, I thought you'd be in a better mood after how last night went." Emmett's suggestive winking does _not _go unnoticed by Rosalie.

"Edward, where is Bella?" The acid in Rosalie's voice rivaled rat poison.

"Getting washed up." I mumbled into my now half-empty coffee cup.

"Was she dirty or did—" Rosalie didn't let Emmett finish, but instead punched him in the arm, hard. "Ow babe!"

"Don't you dare talk about my best friend like that!" She then turned her wrath back to me. "And _you._ You better treat her like a god damn princess, Edward Cullen. She sure as fuck deserves that after all the shit she's been put through."

"What?" I was getting really confused here, it seemed like Bella and I had spilled our whole lives to each other last night, and I didn't remember anything seriously tragic or dramatic about her life.

"It's not my story to tell." And with that, she dragged Emmett out the door, slamming it for effect. I returned my focus back to my conniving sister.

"What the hell did you do to her last night?" She played with her hair, a tell tale sign that Alice Mary Cullen had been plotting.

"She needed a place to crash; she didn't have a ride home. Neither did she bring pajamas. I simply found some that I never wear. I didn't think you'd complain about this, really." She seemed rather amused, but I certainly was not.

"Alice, she was smashed! She would have worn a potato sack if you had given it to her. And it was not fair to leave me in the dark about it all." I resorted to sulking behind my mug, embarrassed and angry that I didn't get to Bella before Alice did.

"The fact that you think I own a potato sack literally gives me nausea." Her head perked up, and a terrifying smile replaced the smug look she wore a minute ago. "Good morning sunshine!" She sang.

"You, little skinny bitch, get me Tylenol and water. You, boss-man bitch, get me coffee. You, 'oh-your-beer-is-empty-I'll–get-you-another' bitch, get out of my chair." I flew off my seat.

For once, Alice didn't dole out a snarky yet upbeat reply, and quickly brought Bella drugs and water. Jasper's sense of humor, however, was always more subtle. He handed her coffee in a mug with the slogan '_She who must be obeyed_' written across it. I bought it for Esme as a gag mother's day gift, never thought it would be used to quell the storm of Isabella Swan, though.

**BPOV**

"Anyone want to enlighten me on last night's events?" I sighed, the delicious black gold needed a little cream, but I wasn't going to protest.

"You drank. A lot." Jasper chuckled. "Now I know why bartenders drink milk." He said, much louder than necessary.

"Jasper Franklin Whitlock, I swear to God. Stop. Talking. So. Loud." He knew that pulling out the embarrassing middle name meant 'no-nonsense' Bella.

I narrowed my eyes in preparation for taking on Alice.

"And why, Alice, do you not own _normal _pajamas?" The shock on her face was mildly hilarious.

"Bella, a girl should be sexy at all times. Why should sleep be an exception?" I would never be able to wrap my head around the ball of energy that was Alice. I just sighed and let it go, I had much bigger fish to fry. But first, more coffee.

"Somebody needs to drive me home." I announced after a while. "You." I pointed at a nearly silent Edward. It was practical. One, his car was pretty fucking hot. Two, since I borrowed his clothes, after I changed back at my place I could turn around and return his. Three, we had much to discuss.

Once we've buckled our seat-belts, I put it all out there, euphemisms and evasiveness wasn't going to clear the air effectively.

"Please explain how I woke up in your bed wearing lingerie?" He cringed, but that was to be expected.

"Honestly, I don't even know. I guess my sister decided it would be funny to dump you in my bed while I cleaned up the yard. I didn't notice you were there until the last second."

"What do you mean 'last second'?"

"I was…sort of in bed too. I rolled over and…and you were there. I freaked out, but I had nowhere else to go, all the guest rooms were occupied. So I just crashed on my couch." My ovaries did a little jig at the thought of being in bed with Edward, but my brain was not so pleased. I suppose it was still trying to hold on to the notion that Edward Cullen was a look-but-don't-touch item. If I was smart, I would keep it that way, it was for the best.

"We didn't…did we?" I blushed and all the interrogation confidence left my body at the thought of us together like that.

"No!" He almost shouted. "I would never _ever_ take advantage of you like that." I'm not sure if I was relieved or a little disappointed. I guess it depends on which organs were doing the talking.

Ovaries: _ Fuck! We were so close!_

Brain: _Whew. Crisis avoided. Be more careful next time, please!_

If Edward could read my mind right now, he'd most certainly drive me straight to the loony house. I should not be making up conversations between myself and my reproductive organs.

"Oh, okay." Is all I managed to say in response.

"I mean, I would never even think of do—"

"I get it, Edward." And now I wanted to cry. He just admitted that he'd never sleep with me. Was I that unattractive? Or was he just leading me on? _Wait, I was supposed to be leading _him _on! _I just wanted to get out his stupid, shiny car and save him from making another mistake. He'd already made a crucial error by letting himself get even remotely close to a messed up freak of nature like myself.

"I can walk the rest of the way." My voice cracked. My body was seriously sabotaging my resolve.

"Don't be ridiculous, Bella." He locked the doors automatically.

"Edward! Just let me out!" Suddenly the fuck-hot car was claustrophobic. He pulled over but didn't unlock the doors.

"What is it?" He said through clenched teeth.

"What the hell are we doing?" I squeaked. "I mean, what do you want?" I took him a good minute to open and close his mouth enough times for an answer to time it just right and sneak out when his mouth was open.

"Right now, I'm driving this amazing girl home, wondering when I'll see her next. And what I want more than anything is to hold her hand." He sighed and let his forehead softly rest on the steering wheel.

"Then what are we? I'm not like those other girls Edward. I never will be. So you need to figure out if I'm really what you want. I'm a little messed up and I have my issues, so if you don't want that sort of thing, just say it so I can get out of your life." Verbal. Diarrhea. I swear to fucking God I hear him 'gulp'. That is so not a good sign. All he does is mumble incoherently. "Speak up. The ants aren't the only ones listening."

"Be my girlfriend, Bella."

Girlfriend. I hadn't been someone's girlfriend since…I didn't want to think about that. It was the one thing still managed to give me nightmares. Sure I wanted to be _with _him, I just didn't think I could handle the title. It carried too much weight. "Bella? I'm not asking you to marry me or anything." He smiled nervously, but I wasn't mollified in the least.

"You want somebody like _me? _ You hardly even know me."

"Can't you see that's _why_ I want you? It's because you're not like every other bar hussy, you're interesting, deep, and wicked funny. You're not a cheap fuck, and I want to _earn_ you, not feel entitled to you." My brain finally lost it, packed up its things, and took a breather. That's probably not for the best because now my ovaries were in full control. And because of my lack of ability to think straight, I moved in to kiss his cheek; to show him that it was the nicest thing anyone had ever said about me.

He bobbed when I weaved, and instead of cheek, my lips met his lips in a startling contact of wet and sparks. My eyelids fluttered open, then closed, the pull my body felt towards him causing me to lean over the gear shift to be closer. I flicked my tongue out to lick his lips, and he groaned into my mouth, causing my blood to ripple in my veins.

"Bella," He moaned. "I, I need to drive you home." His lust-darkened eyes had me thinking that he just wanted me near a bed. I just nodded and mentally chastised the little buggers in my abdomen who were causing so much trouble.

"Right." I agreed. "Plus, you'll probably want your shirt back." I failed to remember that I was only wearing a pair of his boxers and his old high school lacrosse t-shirt. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him scan my body; I only hoped he liked what he saw.

We finally reached my place, and I bolted out of the car and to the door. I face-palmed, I'm so rude.

"Do you want to come in?" I shouted back to him. He sauntered up to my doorstep where I stood waiting. My knees buckled when he leaned down and kissed my neck and whispered "Of course I do. I never like being away from you." I had some serious trouble getting my key to unlock the door after that little stunt.

**EPOV**

I was barely keeping myself under control. She was still wearing my clothes, no bra, no underwear. Just my boxers and t-shirt. Half the reason I was excited was the fact that she now had 'Cullen' printed on her back. Half was the lack of underwear. Well, maybe that was more than half the reason. I wanted to peel every inch of my clothing off of her and just take in the sight of her, bare and pure.

She finally figured out that her key was upside down in the lock. I smirked at the effect I had on her.

"Um, yeah, this is where I live." She was suddenly shy and uncertain of herself. It surprised me because I thought she'd be more comfortable in her own surroundings.

"I can imagine a toddler Bella scampering around here." The image of a tiny, chubby-cheeked Bella made me want to sigh and coo like a society matron. She just snorted and dropped her key under the door mat.

I took in the sight of a cottage-like living room and a tiny kitchenette. Obviously a house suited for one person. No wonder Bella's mother felt trapped, the house felt like a cage, and I'd only been inside for a solid 20 seconds.

"I'm going to go change. If you want, I think there's OJ in the fridge. I'm going to need some later for this headache, so leave me a swig." She darted up the creaky stairs and left me alone with her childhood memories, the feeling of them almost tangible. Whatever haunted her past, I wanted to help her with it if she needed it. Already I felt saddened by the loss of her presence. And that alone scared me a little.

"Hey, you didn't find Narnia and not tell me did you?" I shouted to her up the stairs. A goofy giggle was my answer. She then bounded down each step, knocking into me at the bottom.

"Oomf." She grunted when we crashed. "Sorry, clumsy." She smiled and handed me my clothes, neatly folded.

"No, keep them. They look a lot better on you anyway." And they really did, my boxers hung low on her hips, showing of the delicious curve of her waist and hip bones. She smiled crookedly and set them down on her couch. She had changed into a plain white shirt, and slim jeans. Her ability to look amazing was clearly transferable to everyday clothes.

"Save me any juice?"

"Yep." I pass her the carton and a glass I managed to find. It feels so fucking domestic, and the fact that this doesn't bother me scared me even more. I had seriously fallen in love with Bella, I just didn't know how far and long I fell.

"So to answer your earlier question, no."

"Huh?" Was my genius reply.

"I will not be your girlfriend."

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**Yeah yeah yeah, I know. I promise everything will be explained, if not in the next chapter, then in the one after that. These things take time, what can I say? Bella just needs the right place and time to tell Edward.**

Much love, and please review. 


	11. Chapter 11: Part One

**Okay, I know a lot of you are really wanting to see the reasoning behind Bella's rejection. Well, you're only going to get a taste of it. Sorry, but I promise the whole thing is coming in the next chapter. This is the first part of what I like to call "The Friday Night From Hell" scene. It's all EPOV. Read away!**

**Except I'm going to be annoying and leave a longer than average A/N. Shout out to tahughes who reviewed every single chapter. That made my day :) I swear, I'm officially done rambling. READ!  
**

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EPOV**

To say things had become awkward would be a gross understatement. I had never been rejected before, not by a girl at least. Her explanation was maddening.

"I just really can't handle that label right now. I like where we are and I like the idea of being with you, but I just need to figure some stuff out first. When I'm ready, you'll be the second to know." Her voice trailed off and was followed by a deafening click. _She fucking hung up on me._ And why the hell would I be second in line? Were there other guys? A flare of jealousy passed through me. This girl had me completely beside myself. She obviously had some feelings for me, but they were scattered and unfocused. Our brief encounters after the party had been really uncomfortable, we just didn't know how to act around each other. I would say something to start conversation, but she'd let it fall flat. She would offer a compliment, and I would only return a gruff 'Thanks'. It was getting a little stale.

Three days after the party, I decided I was done waiting for her to make up her mind. I drove furiously to Jasper's, weaving in and out of the tail end of rush hour traffic. It was a little past 6:30, and I knew she wouldn't be really busy for another hour or so, when the pre-concert crowed would show up. I didn't know exactly what it was about her, but Bella stirred something in me that made it impossible to let her go so easily. I was emotionally invested now, it's time she was too. I threw open the heavy front door, meeting her gaze immediately.

"Edward? This is a nice surprise." Her genuine smile caught me off guard and completely erased all my anger. Maybe she wasn't lying when she said she wanted to be with me, just not as my girlfriend.

"Um, yeah." My carefully scripted rant seemed rather pointless now. I now had to wing everything. "I missed you." I confessed quietly as I took a seat across from her. She saw through me easily, though.

"Look, I'm sorry about how things turned out earlier. It wasn't my intention to hurt you." She looked down at her fingernails, and picking the left-over red nail polish off suddenly became interesting. "I do like you." She looked up at me through her lashes, and her coy smile rendered me speechless.

"I-I like you too. A lot." It was amazing how she could reduce me to a stammering teenage boy asking a girl to the big dance. "What I mean to say is that I'm willing to wait."

"Really?" A huge grin broke out on her face, and my chest swelled with pride knowing that I'd put it there. I nodded like a puppy and she leaped over the bar (with zero grace) and flew into my chest for an unexpected hug. "Thank you." She whispered in my ear. Her warm breath so close to my neck made my knees weak, and I was glad I was firmly planted on the bar stool. We awkwardly released each other when Jasper's snort broke our little moment. I helped her safely to the other side of the bar.

For the next couple weeks, things progressed. Slowly, but I wasn't going to sneeze at it. Holding hands in public was a big jump for us. _Us._ I fucking loved being able to say that. She warned me early and often that she couldn't handle much PDA, so I was constantly aware of my body language to make sure she was comfortable. Everything was going perfectly, that is, until the last Friday of July.

"So what are you playing tonight?" Bella asked while pouring a beer for a ragged looking tourist, most likely a hiker in need of respite.

"Some covers. Oh, and Mike wants to try out his newest sickening love song."

"What's this one called?" She smirked.

"I can't believe I'm going to say this. It's called 'If I could Love You Forever', and I'm sure he'll be crooning it to Jess Stanley later tonight." I stuck my finger in my mouth and pretended to gag.

"Still not as bad as 'Starlit Butterfly Kisses'. That's probably the worst." She laughed, her dark hair bouncing slightly with the motion.

"Oh god, I forgot about that one." I raised my Coke to clink with her glass of water. "Here's to Mike forgetting about it too." Soon after our toast, Emmett came to tell me to help the band set up. I left Bella with a wink and a hand squeeze before joining the guys backstage.

"Big crowd tonight boys!" Ben Cheney announced as we tuned our instruments.

"Yeah, let's hope you don't piss your pants this time!" Emmett guffawed before ducking out of the way of the drumstick Ben launched his way.

"That was one fucking time! Plus my Angela was watching us for the first time..." Ben and Angela had been an item for as long as the band had been together, and she rarely missed a show. They had what I wanted with Bella; something stable and loving.

I peeked out the dingy curtain to look at her behind the bar, but she wasn't there. _Odd, she never took breaks on show nights, it was just too busy._

"Let's get this party started!" Emmett shouted and slapped me on the back. Soon we were in our familiar places on stage, and Ben's drumming carried us into our first song. Again I scanned the bar for Bella, but I saw only a frazzled Rosalie and a really creepy guy giving me the stink-eye. It was getting fucking scary, by our third song, our own twist on Jon McLaughlin's 'Industry', I was sure he was going out of his way to make eye contact with me. I was so distracted that I barely heard Mike announce his new song.

"Edward! It's your intro." Ben hissed, his hand covering his microphone. I nodded and plowed into the disgustingly sweet and generic chords I had memorized last week. My thoughts were jarred out of focus with a sudden roar of applause. She still wasn't at the bar, and creepy guy looked really fucking pissed off, turning shades of red and purple. He finally stormed off, shoving several people out of his way to get to the exit.

I packed up my sheet music and helped Emmett put away his amps in his monster van when Alice rushed into the parking lot.

"Edward! You've got to come quick, Bella's having a serious panic attack or something." She panted. I knew there was something wrong when she disappeared from the bar.

"Where is she?" I yelled, my volume surprised even myself.

"She's in Jasper's office, bawling her eyes out." Worry was burned into her delicate face, and I knew that whatever was going on wasn't trivial.

I took off towards the back door that led to the office and employee's bathroom. I threw open the door, praying that she wasn't hurt. My entrance produced a guttural scream from Bella that tore me to shreds.

"It's _him_!" She cried and covered her eyes with her arm. Her fear paralyzed me. Rosalie held her close, rocking her slightly.

"Shh. No baby, it's just Edward. I promise it's not him." She was curled up in the fetal position on Jasper's chair, looking broken and scared. I dropped down to my knees in front of her and stroked her tiny hand. Two things I could see very clearly. One, was Bella; hurt and clearly upset. Two, was red; red because I was so angry at the motherfucker who did this to her. I would find him, castrate him, and then kill him.

"Bella, baby what happened?" I whispered into her hair. She flew off the chair and into my arms where she sobbed some more.

"H-he's b-back. H-he c-came lo-looking f-for m-me." She hiccuped from crying. I crushed her into my chest and silently vowed to make this right. Whatever the cost.

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**More than likely, it'll be a quick update for part 2, sleepless nights really help me pump out the chapters. I promise this cliffy won't last long, and all will be revealed. Much love and review. :)**


	12. Chapter 11: Part Two

**Finally! I think this is the fastest I've uploaded...haha I'm quite proud of myself. Here we have it: Bella's reasoning and what happened to cause the mess Edward saw in J's office...**

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BPOV**

I clamored up Charlie's old stairs to my room. The room I'd slept in since I was born. Pictures from my two years at Forks High School remained tacked to the cork-board over my desk, and the oak dresser I inherited from Grandma Swan stood proudly in the corner near the small window. I took a minute to do the most girly thing imaginable: jump up and down and squeal, as quietly as possible. _Edward Cullen was interested in me._ The plain and ordinary girl-next-door type that usually ended up watching her life-long crush drive off with some bombshell. Not that he was my life-long crush or anything.

Before undressing, I sniffed his shirt deeply, and caught all of his scent, it was musky and fresh, and I didn't want to let it go. Reluctantly, I stripped and pulled on a clean bra and fresh underwear. I chose my pink lace set, it always made me feel a little more confident and sexy. Sometimes I wished that I could wear my underwear on top of my clothes, just so someone could see how good I looked. Of course the whole outfit would look truly bizarre. _Shut it Swan, you're stalling._

"Hey, you didn't find Narnia and not tell me did you?" He called. I giggled. I couldn't remember the last time someone made me giggle. I threw on my favorite jeans and a comfy tee and bounded down the stairs. I wasn't expecting him to be at the bottom and I ran full-force into him.

"Oomf." I couldn't help but smile up at him. There's no way I could let this man out of my life. "Sorry, clumsy."

We chatted casually, but his question from the car loomed over my head like a Washington storm cloud.

"So to answer your earlier question, no." It felt so good to finally get it out of my system.

"Huh?" Crap, I'd have to spell it out for him. I knew he'd be hurt, but I couldn't let him ruin this awesome connection between us with a stupid title.

"I will not be your girlfriend." I sighed with relief now that he knew. His wide-eyed stare made me feel guilty, but this was for the best.

"But, you—I thought, what?"

"Edward, I think you should go." I tried to apologize with my eyes, but he wouldn't look at me. He hurried out my front door, and I followed him out to his car.

"I promise I'll call you." I shouted before he slammed his door shut. I winced at the finality of the sound. I went back inside and tried to reassure myself that this was for the best. I knew I'd have to tell him soon, I just didn't know when the right time was. He'd need to know why I was broken.

"Emmett's birthday is coming up, what should I get him?" Rose asked. I could tell she was nervous, but I knew she couldn't go wrong with anything. Emmett was a good sport and could take what she could dish.

"You might kill me for suggesting this, but I've seen marshmallow-shooting machine guns online."

"Oh my god, that's incredibly perfect. E-mail me the link." We continued talking about whether or not we should let Alice throw Em a party. We decided that pizza at Jasper's was the best plan.

Edward visited for a few minutes before having to prep for his show, and I was getting a little nervous for him, there were more people here than average. This could be sort of a breakthrough for them. If they ever got a decent name. Currently, they were The Mutants, but it would probably change next week. Nobody ever agreed on anything for longer than a month. I told Edward that no record label would ever sign a band that couldn't decide on a name.

Jasper's started buzzing when Mike Newton starting testing the crew's microphones.

"One...Two, Three, Hey Jess!" He beamed. I knew they'd end up together. Jessica Stanley had always been in love with Mike. It just took him all of high school to figure it out.

I turned back to the man I was serving when out of the corner of my eye, I saw him.

My body froze. This was the one scenario that I had buried so deep in the back of my head, I was sure it had cobwebs. My insides screamed to run, but if I did, he'd surely be fast enough to catch me, and strong enough to bring me down. Self preservation finally presented itself an opportunity, and I ducked under the bar top and tucked myself into one of the shelves that were hidden by the front counter. I shoved bottles of rancid tequila out of my way and bit my hand to keep from screaming. _No. No. NO. _I mentally chanted.

_Maybe it wasn't him. Maybe that guy just looked like him. _

Who was I kidding? Even after five years, my body still recognized that twinge of fear that his presence required.

"Bell—Hey! What the fuck?" Rose cried as I dug my nails into her ankle.

"Whatever you do, _don't_ say my name." I hissed under my breath. I felt the familiar quake in my chest that signaled my oncoming breakdown. "I need to get out of here." My voice cracked.

"What is it?" She whispered from the corner of her mouth.

"Rose, he's here. Dimitri is here." I trembled.

"Fuck on a stick." She looked around the crowded bar, searching for the man who ruined me. "I see him. He's watching the band." Our quiet exchange was probably getting some weird looks from the people surrounding the bar, but I didn't have the ability to care.

"Get Jasper." I pleaded. I thrust my head back between my knees and silently prayed that I was somewhere else, and that was just some indigestion induced bad dream.

"I think we're out of tequila." I heard Rose say above me. Jasper's face popped in right in front of me and it took all of my energy not to scream and claw his face off.

"Bel—mfmmf." I covered his mouth with my hand and told him that he needed to walk really slowly to the bathroom.

"I'll be crawling on the floor following you." I finally freed him from my hand.

"What the hell is goin' on here?" His accent was really thick when he was angry.

"I'll tell you if you can get me out of here." His face softened, he nodded once and stood up.

"I think I have a few extra bottles in the back." He said to Rose, and I could see her blond waves nod in agreement. I hoped the dim lighting and Edward as a distraction would cover my ass.

Jasper strode slowly over to the employee's bathroom, me following slowly on my hands and knees. I was shaking so much that I almost fell over. Once we were both inside, I pulled myself onto the toilet and let it all out.

I sobbed and tugged at my hair all while forcefully stepping on my own toe, hoping to channel the pain into a physical state. The adrenaline from my escape still coursed through me, and my cries were becoming more like moans. Hands tried to steady my shaking but they were just like his, and I would cry louder, shrinking away from them. A thick cloud surrounded me, and all I could see was him and all the nightmares he starred in over the years.

I vaguely heard voices around me, but I couldn't make out who the belonged to. My shirt clung to my body, wet with tears. My hands wouldn't stop shaking. My eyes couldn't stop staring at the old scar on my wrist. His favorite target. Smaller hands gripped me this time, and I knew they couldn't be his. Rose's soft voice penetrated the fog momentarily, and I fell into her embrace. She, with the help of someone else, dragged me into Jasper's office, which shared a door with the bathroom. I balled up in the big leather chair, still shaking.

"I'm going to get Edward." A bell-like voice stated. _Edward._ His hands were the only ones I wanted around my shoulders. His words calming me. With the mention of his name, things became clearer, and the fog started to lift.

Rose continued rocking me, and my body began to feel the exhaustion that was typical post-panic attack. This had been my most recent. I hadn't had one in maybe two years. But the pain never dulled, not once. I heard the door swing open.

_He found me._

I screamed with all of my might, hoping that someone might hear me, and stop him.

"It's him!" I cried to no one in particular. My mind was still reeling from the thought of him tracking me down, hunting me.

"Shhh. No baby, it's just Edward. I promise it's not him." Rose cooed. My body eased, and my limbs went limp.

"Bella, baby what happened?"

Without realizing it, I threw myself at him, needing his arms around me. Fresh tears welled up, and another shuddering sob fell from my mouth. The thought of Dimitri taking me from Edward's world ripped at me. I had to tell him, there was no way around it now.

"H-he's b-back. H-he c-came lo-looking f-for m-me." I sputtered.

"Who did this to you? I'll fucking kill him." He seethed. I placed my palm on his cheek, as if he was the one needing comfort.

"I'm going to go look for him." Jasper snarled.

"I know what he looks like." Rose added. The two left, and it was just Edward and I huddled in Jasper's office.

"Please tell me what happened." He whispered while running his hands through my hair.

"D-Dimitri was h-here." I was beginning to get my bearings, and I stopped shaking so much. His fist balled up and he pressed his forehead into mine.

"He—he didn't touch you, did he?" I shook my head. I truly would have lost it if he had.

"Edward, I can't be your girlfriend because of him." His face was raw and confused. "I'm too scared." I added feebly.

"Whatever he did, Bella, I promise you, I'll fix it." _If only he knew._

_I have to tell him now._

"I remember it like it was yesterday. Jake calls me his elephant because I never forget anything. The first day of high school, my first day as a freshman at Eden Valley High was the morning after a rare thunderstorm in Phoenix..."

_I had just come back from the security office with my locker combination. It took me about five minutes to finally find locker number 1217. I spent another five minutes trying to get the thing unlocked. I sighed heavily and kicked the locker, but my big toe sustained more damage, a fact that only served to make me even angrier._

"_Do you need some help?" A deep voice said from behind me. I jumped a little, startled to find someone else in the almost deserted hallway. He was very attractive, with cropped brown hair and soft gray eyes. He was athletically built, a football or soccer player I guessed. _

"_Yeah, I can't seem to open my locker. I'm not sure if they gave me the right combination." I shrugged. _

"_May I?" I handed him the scrap of paper with the three-number code and moved out of his way. I recognized him from this morning's 'Welcome Back' assembly. It was clear he was popular, and probably older, a junior at least. With a resounding 'click', my locker stood wide open before me._

"_Thank you so much, life will be easier with a locker." I tried to impress him with a semi-flirty smile, and surprisingly, it worked._

"_Dimitri Dunmore, at your service, my lady." He was so charming; I couldn't help be immediately feel at ease. _

"_Isabella Swan." I extended my hand for a good old fashioned shake, but he took it and kissed my knuckles instead._

"_What a beautiful name." I was flattered, and a week later, I accepted his offer to be his girlfriend..._

"Can't you see? I was so young and trusting. He took advantage of that." Edward continued to run his fingers through my hair, an act that comforted me much more than he would ever know.

"Don't beat yourself up about that. We were all young and naïve once." He said softly and rested his cheek against my own. I wanted so badly to kiss him and forget all about Dimitri, but Edward was too much of a gentleman, I couldn't take out my emotional confusion on him; it wasn't fair.

"No, you need to hear all of it. How he first hurt me."

_Dimitri's red Malibu pulled up in front of my house, right on time._

"_Bye mom! Bye Phil!" I shouted as I ran out to greet him. We drove for about ten minutes until we pulled off the main road and into the familiar vacant parking lot behind the old car factory near school. We'd stop here every morning before school, to get some privacy._

_His kisses started out hungry and fast, much different from our usual routine of slow and lazy. I broke away to catch my breath._

"_Dee, what's up?" I asked while stroking his hard chest._

"_I'm just nervous. I've been meaning to ask you something."_

"_Yeah?"_

"_Isabella, will you go to Winder Formal with me?" Oh no, dances. I thought he would know better than to ask me. My lack of coordination directly translated into dancing as well._

"_Do we have to go? I mean, we could have lots of fun without a stupid dance." I smiled and pushed his hair out of his eyes, just the way he liked. He reached for my wrist, and pulled it away from his hair with frightening force. His eyes turned cold and hard and his grip on my wrist tightened. _

"_Dee, you're hurting me." I whimpered, but he only tightened his hold on me further._

"_And you're hurting me, Isabella. Why don't you want to go with me? Are you ashamed of me?" He roared._

"_No! I'm just really bad at dancing! Please, Dimitri, let go!" I pleaded. He twisted my wrist a sickening amount in the wrong direction before throwing it back into my lap. Tears pooled in my eyes and streamed down my face. When I looked at my already swollen wrist, I knew there'd be bruises. Already my mind was searching for an explanation to give my teachers and Renee. I'd tell them I tripped and fell on it. My clumsiness surely would back that up._

_When we pulled into the school lot, he leaned over the console and wiped away my tears and gave me a slow kiss. We walked in silence to my first class, where he dropped me off every day._

"_Be good, Isabella." He whispered harshly in my ear before leaving me in the doorway, my wrist throbbing.  
_

The office door opened, and an angry looking Rose and Jasper entered before slumping down on the ratty old couch in the corner.

"We couldn't find him, darlin'." Jasper muttered. "Forks is a small town. If we pass out pictures, someone is bound to see him." He added.

"You still have your old year book, Bella?" Rose asked. I nodded slowly, knowing exactly where the book would be; shoved under my bed beneath a pile other things that reminded me of Dimitri. "We should get you home, too."

"I can't go home. He probably knows where I live. He'll be waiting for me!" My heartbeat sped up as I pictured him sitting in the tire swing near the front door.

"She's right. I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking." Rose held her head in her hands. With Edward's help, I stood up and went over to the couch. I pulled Rose into a firm hug.

"You've done so much for me, I love you so much." I whispered. She brushed her hair out of her eyes and sighed heavily.

"You're like a sister to me Bella, I'll do everything in my power to protect you."

"That makes two of us." Jasper grabbed my hand and gave it a squeeze.

"Three of us." Edward joined us, and placed a protective hand on my shoulder. He smiled tentatively, causing his eyes to crinkle a little. Just like Charlie's.

"Um, is it okay if I stay with you?" I squeaked into his Edward's ear.

"You have no idea how much of a relief that would be."

The drive to Edward's was quiet. He kept peeking at me, probably to make sure I didn't revert back into a slobbering mess. I didn't blame him though, every red car we passed caused the knot in my stomach to tighten.

"How long did he...hurt you?" He finally broke the silence, and looked at me, obviously pained.

"Two and a half years." I murmured. I was ashamed of how weak I had been, too weak to leave, too weak to say anything. It wasn't like anyone would have listened. Renee was preoccupied with her hobbies and Phil, and Charlie was thousands of miles away. I didn't have real friends in Phoenix, not like the ones I clung to in Forks.

"Fuck Bella, you didn't say anything?" He pinched the bridge of his nose at a red light.

"He threatened me." My voice wavered, and I was on the verge of opening the gates to things I tried to force out of my memory.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell. I just can't imagine that piece of garbage doing that to you for so long." He pulled into the long Cullen driveway, white-knuckled from the forceful grip on the steering wheel. He opened my door for me, and draped his warm jacket over my shaking shoulders. Upon seeing me, Esme went into hysterics, calling out for her husband and offering me every refreshment under the sun.

"Peppermint tea would actually be very nice." My throat was still horse from screaming, and peppermint reminded me of Edward, of course. He sat me on one of the posh white sofas and smoothed my hair.

"My father is a doctor, he may want to ask you a few questions. Don't worry, he's very good at what he does." He tried to smile again, but it failed when he noticed my shaking hands.

"Are _you_ going to be okay?"

"Bella, so long as you're fine, you don't need to worry about me. I promise." He kissed my forehead lightly. Mentally I prayed that my past life would never cross paths with my present life ever again.

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**Please review, and thanks again to everyone who has been reading and adding alerts/favorites. You are better than glitter. And I love glitter. **


	13. Chapter 12

**Hello again! This chapter is a little longer than usual, I hope that explains the lack of update quickness... Anyway, ze plot thickens, and we learn a little bit more about Emmett, who is actually my favorite character in the series. Enjoy!**

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EPOV**

The moment my head hit the pillow, it felt like a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. Bella was safe and that's all that mattered.

I couldn't sleep, though. I kept imagining what could have happened if Dimitri had gotten to her. Most of it made me nauseous. I knew that she wouldn't be completely safe until he was found and driven out of Forks for good. I planned to call Emmett and Jasper to figure out what to do next. Of course we would need Bella's help too, she knew him better than anyone else, a fact that I detested.

Muffled screams crashed into my ears, and I jolted out of bed. I flew to the third floor guest room where Bella was staying. I knew my entrance would scare her, but at this point, all I wanted was to make sure that bastard wasn't smothering her with a pillow.

"Please stop, please." She moaned, her sheets were twisted in her legs in a fitful nightmare. I rushed to her side and shook her shoulders, damp with sweat. I called to her several times before she finally woke up.

The look she gave me broke my heart. It was terror and hopelessness all at the same time. She looked exhausted, as she should; it had been a rough twelve hours. I picked up her feather-weight body and carried her back to my room, placing her lightly on the crisp sheets. I tucked her in and kissed her forehead before turning for the couch. Her fingers gripped my thumb.

"Please, don't go." She whispered. How could I deny her? After what she had gone through, I'd eat my own liver for her. I crawled into bed next to her, unsure of how exactly to proceed. We'd established that we'd like to be together, but apart from a kissing, physically, we were in limbo. I wanted to touch her, God I did, but I wasn't sure if I'd make her uncomfortable or not, and I especially didn't want to scare her.

"I'm tired of this." She sighed, and rolled over to face me. "I thought Forks would keep him away, and that I'd never have to worry about this again." Stared blankly over my shoulder, a defeated calm washed over her face. There was maybe a foot between us, but this was an intimate conversation, it just didn't feel right to be far from her. I moved over to her and removed her hand from over her eyes.

"Hey, I promise that I'll make this right. No, Bella look at me. I, I know it's going to be tough, but I l…like that you chose me." _Such a fucking coward. I couldn't even say the word. _I knew it was too early for her to be able to say it back, and this certainly wasn't the time for confessions. "And I know you better than you think I do, and I know that you'll worry about me getting tired of you, or that I'll dump you because of Dimitri. But you're wrong okay? I'm not going anywhere. I just needed you to know that." I let her hands go and closed my eyes, ready for some much needed sleep. What I didn't expect were her thin arms coiling around my neck, and the feel of her body against mine. I opened my eyes to find her smiling.

"Thank you." She whispered and laid her cheek against my chest, finally losing herself to peaceful sleep.

I wanted to wake up like this every morning for the rest of my life. Bella was sprawled across my chest, arms around my waist and mine around hers. That feeling only cemented what I already knew: I loved her. She stirred, and even sleepy, she was beautiful.

"Morning." She mumbled. I stretched underneath her, and it was surprising how well our bodies fit together. "You didn't have to do that last night."

"Yes I did. You don't know how loud you were screaming." I joked, but she got me square in the face with a pillow.

"You don't think anyone heard me? That would be more than embarrassing." She grumbled something about Carlisle probably wanting to ask questions, I just laughed and peeled the pillow off of my head.

"Probably not, Esme had most of the third floor soundproofed for the piano. Don't worry about it."

"Do you mind if I shower?" She asked, pointing to the bathroom.

"Bella, think of this house as yours from now on. You don't have to ask." She smiled warmly and kissed my cheek.

I was going to need a shower soon, too. A cold one. Bella's proximity to Edward Jr. coupled with our thin pajamas made for an almost sticky situation. _Small pun intended._ While Bella was in the shower, I threw her clothes from last night in the washer and called Emmett.

"Hey. Can you come over?...Yeah, I know….As soon as possible….okay, bring Rosalie with you too….see you man." I flicked my phone shut and went over to my stereo. I knew Bella liked Jack Johnson, so I turned the volume up until I was certain she could hear it from the bathroom. Soon I heard her soft voice singing along with the lyrics. I could get used to this.

_BAM_ my door slammed.

"Is she okay?" Alice shrieked. I simply pointed to the bathroom door where the singing continued. "Oh." She exhaled and slumped onto my bed.

"She's doing pretty well this morning. No doubt it could change throughout the day, but if she's happy, I'm happy."

"Good. Edward? I, uh, well I want to admit something." I motioned for her to continue, but she looked hesitant. "About a week ago, I had this really scary dream. Bella was getting chased by something, but I couldn't tell what it was. I was frozen, as were Jasper, Rosalie, and Emmett."

"I'm sure you just ate too much before bed, Alice."

"Don't you see? I dreamt it and it happened!" She was almost in tears now, a state that I rarely saw Alice in. "I went to help find him, but all I could remember was the dream. I felt exactly the same, and the setting even looked the same. Emmett saw me staring at a corner, but I saw her go down in that corner. I was sure it was the one by the old jukebox."

"Ali, calm down." I handed her a tissue and sat with her on the bed. "Bella's fine and we're going to catch him. I'm sure that whatever you saw in your dream was just a fluke." She nodded and handed me the used tissue. Ew.

"Thanks, Edward. For taking care of her." She left just as Bella skipped out of the bathroom, in nothing but a towel, her long hair damp and wavy. I crossed my legs to hide my excitement that was sure to be saying 'hello' from under my thin pajama bottoms.

"My turn!" I shouted and ran past her and shut the door behind me. The stress of last night and Bella's towel show had done a number on me, and I sure as fuck needed to relax. I threw off my pajama bottoms, cranked the hot water, and jumped into the shower. I was already hard, but the thought of Bella possibly being naked on the other side of the door made me even more solid. Using the tiled wall as leverage, I thought of her in the black night-dress Alice put her in. A few short fantasies later, I knew that if I didn't touch myself, I might rightly implode. At first I stroked lightly, but the need for release took over and soon I was pumping desperately. My knees shook and buckled as the waves of pleasure drew nearer and nearer. I grunted and pulled one last time, closing my eyes as I fell over the edge. I washed the rest of myself quickly, and stepped out of the shower. With a towel wrapped around my waist, I went back into my room to get some clothes. She was dressed in her now clean clothes form last night, and was rooting through my CD collection.

"See anything you like?"

**BPOV**

"_See anything you like?"_

Is he serious? That towel hung so low on his hips, I could see the v-shape that lead to what I'm sure was holy land. I bit my bottom lip, and nodded stupidly.

"I, uh, um, Coldplay." I pointed absently to the shelf behind me. He smirked, and moved over to his dresser. Just then, the doorbell rang.

"That's probably for you." He nodded towards the door, and opened up a shirt drawer. "I called over Rose and Emmett."

"Oh, good." I sprinted down the stairs, shaking my head to erase fantasies of Edward and that towel out of my mind. In the kitchen, Esme stood handing out coffee mugs to Carlisle, Em, and Rose. Coffee sounded pretty good at the moment, I still had a lingering headache from my crying jag last night. Alice and Jasper were there too, talking in hushed tones.

"How are you feeling, sweetheart?" Esme said as she handed me a mug of my own.

"Better." I sighed, accepting a hug from Rose. We all sat at the rectangular table, absent-mindedly twiddling with our cups.

"I talked to Bella last night, and although I'm not a psychologist, I can say that she isn't suffering any serious mental injury." Carlisle said in his doctor voice. "Physically, she's as fit as a fiddle." He smiled warmly, and squeezed my shoulder paternally. It made my heart ache for Charlie.

Edward joined us, but swiftly drew the men back into the kitchen to talk privately, no doubt on how to deal with Dimitri. I didn't want to know what they were planning, so long as none of them got hurt.

Alice flung herself at me, practically chocking me in the process.

"Bella!" She sobbed. Rose had to pull her off.

"Alice, I'm fine." I placated.

"Breakfast, everybody." Esme called as she carried in platefuls of eggs, pancakes, sausage, and bacon. The boys followed the plates with their noses. Edward sat next to me, giving me sidelong glances while we ate. I noticed that everyone else was doing the same, and it began to unnerve me. Eventually, the silence became too much, and I stood up, scraping my chair across the floor.

"Stop staring at me!" I shrieked. "I'm not a zoo animal." I bolted up the stairs, and slammed the door to the room I was staying in. I paced agitatedly, running my fingers through my hair. I wanted this to be over. Normal twenty-two year olds didn't have these sorts of problems. A soft knock broke my frazzled state.

"Can I come in?" Emmett's voice surprised me, I had expected either Rose or Edward. I sighed and turned the knob to let him in.

"Sorry about the outburst." I slumped down on the over-sized bed, letting my body sink into the mattress.

"Nobody blames you for this, Bella." He jumped on the bed, causing me to spring up and giggle.

"Bella, the whole town is looking out for you. I promise he won't get to you." The comparison of Emmett and a bear wasn't just based on appearances. I could tell that he would fight ferociously for the things he loved.

"Thank you." I gave him my most appreciative smile, this whole town had always been so good to me.

"Did you know that my name wasn't always Sawyer?" Normally Emmett was confident and laid-back, but he seemed restrained and uneasy. I shook my head slowly. I knew that he lived in Port Angeles with a roommate, but the rest of his past was unknown to me.

"I grew up in Boulder, Colorado, actually. I lived there until I was twelve. Back then, my name was McCarty."

"I didn't know you were Irish." I joked.

"Well know you know why I can hold my liquor so well." A brief smile flashed on his face.

"I loved my mother so much. Yeah, I know, a real momma's boy. That's why it hurt so much. My father, he was just like your Dimitri. Thought he owned the world and everything in it. He beat my mother regularly. It made my blood boil every time I'd see a bruise on her face. I tried hitting him back, but a ten year old is no match for a seasoned wife-beater." He snapped disgustedly, and tugged his short dark curls.

"Emmett, I'm so sorry."

"I'm not. He needed to be taught that what he was doing wasn't right. I came home from school one day and found my mother on the floor, busted lip with blood all around her on the kitchen tile. I knew then that we had to leave. I didn't go to school the next morning, I helped my mother pack the car up. We left for the West coast before the bastard came home from work. When we got to Port Angeles, my mother and I took on her maiden name. I was glad to finally rid myself of a constant reminder of my father."

"What you and your mother did was very brave. I wish I could have been like that, to at least have told someone." I picked at my fingernails, I hated thinking of myself as so weak, but it was the truth. As long as Dimitri was free, he made me weak.

"She'd have loved you, Bella. She was all snark and wit. But do you see why we're all so willing to protect you? We love you, and we're not going to let another slime-ball ruin another life." I was crying a little by this point. I enveloped what I could of him into a hug.

"Thank you. You're like the big brother I never had." I sniffed.

"And you're like the annoying little sister I never had the privilege to protect." He wrapped his arms around me and lifted me off the bed. "Come back downstairs? We've still got lots to talk about."

"Yeah, I know."

After two hours, everything was settled. Most of the agreement made me want to pull out all my hair, but I didn't think Edward would like that very much. He seemed to really like running his fingers through it, and who am I do deny him that? Carlisle and Esme agreed that I could stay at Cullen Manor, as I like to call it, until Dimitri was brought in. Alice jumped into action, hitting all the online stores for my new wardrobe, now that I couldn't go over to Charlie's to get all of my own clothes. I would miss my Forks PD sweatshirt and ridiculously comfortable slipper-socks. I made her promise that heels would be excluded from her rampage, but the look she gave me wasn't very convincing. Jasper agreed that I couldn't work at the bar anymore, but he'd still pay me if I did the accounting from home. _Home._ I guess it would have to do, for now. I felt like a shut-in invalid, and I made that point very clear. Rose promised that she'd come over on weekends so we could continue our movie-night traditions, but I knew it wouldn't be the same without my ancient hot-air popcorn popper. Most of the time, when I wasn't crunching numbers, I sulked around Edward's room, rooting through his music and books. He spent a lot of time at the hospital with Carlisle now, he got a letter from U of W saying that he'd been accepted into the pre-med program for the fall. I wasn't sure if he'd raised enough money from the band, but I'm sure his parents really wouldn't mind dumping some of their trust fund onto their son.

Of course there was always Alice. Well, not really. What I didn't know, was that she worked at Esme's design firm in Port Angeles. Yes, that effectively left me alone pretty much all day. Week after week, I slowly lost my mind to a serious case of cabin fever. One night, I finally lost it.

I had just changed into my pajamas, silk top and shorts, the one purchase of Alice's that I whole-heartedly approved. Most of the house had gone to bed, and Edward was 'sneaking' into my room. We hadn't formally stated that we shared a room, but I'm guessing people already knew it. They probably thought we were sleeping together. They're technically right. We were, in fact, sleeping in the same bed. But that's just it, all we did was sleep. Edward, poor schmuck, thought he could fool me, waking up super early to jump in the shower. His excuse was that he always felt dirty after sleeping. Liar. I could feel his hard-on through his pajamas when he held me tight against him at night. Problem was, he never did anything about it, with me at least. Sure we kissed, but all the passion was gone. It was like he was afraid of breaking me.

He closed the door quietly and tip-toed to the bed. He bent down to kiss my forehead, but I jerked away. This 'Bella is a fragile, piece of goddamn glass' shit ended tonight.

"Are you feeling okay?" He asked reflexively. There was always something wrong with me.

"No." I snapped. He was quite surprised, I had been playing the role of quiet, submissive prisoner and I had lost my usual bite.

"Do you need anything? Water or—"

"What I _need_, Edward, is to feel your hands on me." I ripped his hands from his sides and held them firmly on my hips.

"Bella I don't think—"

"Shut. Up." I cut him off, and forced my mouth on to his. I tried my best to force his unmoving lips to mesh with mine, and I growled at his stubbornness. I ran my hands down his chest, and attempted to push his back onto the bed, unfortunately, he was a lot bigger than me. Instead, I continued my journey down his front. His stomach was hard and smooth, basically, his shirt was being a real asshole by covering him. I pushed my hands underneath his shirt, up to his nipples, and tried to push off the annoying piece of clothing. His strong hands pulled my hips away from his very obvious hard-on, and he managed to shimmy his way out of my grasp. My chest twisted with all the conformation I needed. I was untouchable, tainted, soiled, contaminated, by Dimitri. I stumbled backwards, on the verge of tears. I didn't trust my voice, so I resorted to seething quietly.

"Bella, please. You're not ready for this." He moved towards me, but with every step he took forward, I took one back. Soon, my back bumped into the wall.

"Why won't you touch me?" I trembled. And then it clicks. He wasn't kidding when he said he wouldn't sleep with me. I had just been too stupid and optimistic to see that he was telling the truth. I ran to the bathroom, at least there he wouldn't have to see me cry. _Always weak._ He tried to catch me, but this time I was faster and didn't trip like usual. I slammed the door in his face, my back sliding down as I gradually hung my head between my knees. I didn't cry, I just felt empty. His fists banging on the door did nothing to make me feel any different. I curled up on my side and decided that the plush bathmat would be mattress enough for tonight, it wasn't long enough and my toes had to rough the cold tile.

When I woke up, my eyelashes felt like they had been glued together, and my neck was really stiff from the awkward sleeping position I was in. I sat up and stretched, feeling the stiffness down my back as well. I used the vanity to hoist myself upright, and groaned at the reflection in the mirror. My hair was a veritable bird's nest, and when I ran my brush through it, I was surprised to not find little speckled eggs. I needed coffee. Bad. I sighed and stumbled to the door, which wouldn't open. Edward must have fallen asleep against the door, and now I was trapped. I wasn't sure if I was still mad at him, he _had_ stayed outside my door all night. No doubt we would have a little talk today. I heaved my body at the door, but it didn't budge. I ground my teeth in frustration, this is not how I wanted to spend my Sunday morning. I rummaged through the in-mirror cabinet and found my nail file. I poked it under the door, and I struck flesh about two inches from the gap. I jabbed lightly at what I assumed was his ass, but when he still didn't move, I gave up on being gentle. I speared him with the pointy end of the metal file, and was rewarded with a groggy 'whattheeverlivingfuck' from Edward.

"Let me the fuck out!" I screamed, just for effect. I was going to make him suffer just a little for making me feel like I was a leper.

The door flew open and disgruntled Edward stood before me. I must have looked insane: crazy hair, pajamas, and brandishing a fairly sharp and pointy metal object. Not to mention the snarl that was probably on my face.

"I'm so sorry! I fell asleep..." He stood in his wrinkled bottoms and undershirt, scratching his equally disheveled bronze hair.

"Obviously." I snapped and rolled my eyes before pushing passed him.

"Bella, can we just talk for a minute?" I turned around to face him, and I decided that I was indeed still mad at him. Even if he did look adorable with his unruly pajamas and early morning scruff.

"About what, Edward? About how I'm repulsive, yet you keep me locked up in your fucking castle? If this is your idea of a sick super-hero psyche melting game, I want no further part." At this point, tears of embarrassment were betraying my shield of indifference. If I wasn't wearing tiny silky pajamas and my crazy stalker wasn't on the loose, I would be running out the front door.

"Rep-you think-_repulsive_?" The shock on his face looked surprisingly genuine.

"You won't fucking touch me!" I wasn't above throwing the alarm clock at him. Maybe that'd wake him up. He strode toward me, but I didn't have the energy to shake him off.

"I think you're gorgeous." He cupped my cheek, and it almost won me over. I closed my eyes and pulled away. "I'm just afraid of moving too fast." He whispered. "It's happened to me before and it ruined the relationship. I can't ruin this."

"Why didn't you tell me any of this? If we want this to work you have talk to me. I won't be left in the dark, Edward." His explanation thawed me considerably; he was just as insecure as I was. Just then, the door bell rang. We walked over to the window, which over looked the front door.

"You did _not_ call my father." I growled.

"I had no idea." He shook his head. "You should get dressed." He kissed my cheek and left me to get ready to face the man who rescued me from Phoenix. Donning a light green t-shirt and jean carpis, I descended to the living room, not quite ready for a really awkward conversation. Edward had beaten me downstairs, and patted the seat next to him on the couch. I sat obediently, and watched as my father's mustache twitched. Uh-oh. He rose and pulled me into an uncomfortable hug. The Swan's were not known for outwardly displaying affection.

"Bella-bear, I'm so glad you're safe." The childhood nickname painted my face pink, and I bit my lip and nodded. I sank back into the soft leather, I was in no mood to have this conversation. Luckily, I didn't have to contribute much, apparently Carlisle had told Charlie most of it over the phone.

"What have the boys down at the station done?" I had never seen Charlie this riled up, he usually wasn't very talkative and let others carry the conversation.

"We passed out Dimitri's picture, and told them to post it in stores in and around Forks." Edward explained.

"Good." Charlie's gruff voice echoed loudly off the whitewashed walls of the Cullen house. He then looked at me. "Does Renee know about this?" I shook my head. If she knew that Dimitri had followed me, she'd surely blow a gasket.

"Dad, she sent me to Forks so I would be away from him." I felt horrible that the real reason for my living with him hadn't been that I missed him or even that my mother moved around a lot. He looked understandably hurt, and the guilt caused my stomach to churn.

"She knew, then." His voice was rough with emotion, but he'd never show it. I had so much Charlie in me, but the personality I did inherit from my mother caused my emotions to betray me far too easily.

"You must be exhausted from the drive, can I get you anything?" Esme said, realizing the uncomfortable direction the conversation had turned.

"Where's Sue?" I asked. Once the two had gotten married, they'd been inseparable, and it didn't make any sense for him to come alone.

"She's caring for some relatives back in Oregon. Her Aunt is ill." The toll of life had increased the tiny wrinkles around his eyes, and I couldn't help but feel responsible for that. "A glass of water would be much appreciated." He smiled politely at Esme and she took off happily into the kitchen.

It surprised me how quiet Alice was, she merely sat on the ottoman and observed, which was very unlike her. After a while, she got up and left, not before eying me cautiously. I put that into my memory bank and would ask her about it later. I hadn't noticed Edward's arm draped over my shoulders protectively, but when I looked back at Charlie, he certainly noticed it. I knew _that _talk would be coming soon as well. I might need alcohol to brave that storm.

It was agreed that Charlie would stay back at my house as to watch for any suspicious movement. I accompanied him to gather some of my things to bring back to Edward's. I could feel the awkward tension in his truck. At least he didn't bring the cruiser he drove back in Oregon.

"What is that Edward to you?" He always was clear cut about issues like these, it was part of the reason we communicated so well.

"He's, well, he's my boyfriend?" I didn't mean for it to sound like a question, it just never occurred to me that I might feel that way so soon after rejecting that concept.

"Mmm." He grunted. I closed my eyes and prayed that we would magically appear at my front door. Too bad we were still a few miles from the driveway.

"I think he loves you." He said quietly, avoiding eye contact.

"What?" My voice seemed way too loud for the small cab, but I can't help it. I'd known Edward for about a month and a half, there's no way he could love me. He chuckled softly and shook his head, as if I were missing something. I folded my arms across my chest, I hated being left out. I suppose that was my 'only-child' syndrome acting up again.

Edward came to pick me up after I had packed up a few more boxes of clothes and toiletries. On the drive back to his house, I couldn't shake what my father had said. I kept stealing glances at Edward the whole time, looking for some indication, but I couldn't see anything.

If Edward did love me, he sure had a strange way of showing it.

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**Charlie will come into play some more, but he's not a major player in this story, neither is Renee. How did you guys like semi-sexually-aggressive Bella? I quite like her, in fact, she may be back soon.**

**Please review! Thanky :)**


	14. Chapter 13

**Hello, again :) I hope you've all been well. Chapter 13 is a happy little section to tide you over until I get back. That's right, vacation for meee. I'll be writing up a storm while I'm gone, so I'll probably have a boat-load of chapters for you later. I will give you a teaser, though: the big D is back. Yikes. I know, but you'll see. I promise! Enjoy. **

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EPOV**

The stress had become unbearable. There hadn't been any sightings of Dimitri, not since the bar incident, and Bella was wigging out almost every night. I tried my best to comfort her, but she was erratic and I was beside myself. Some nights she would beg me to have sex with her, and some nights she'd shy away from me, sleeping as far away from me as the mattress would allow. I knew that my time at the hospital was taking a toll on her, and I tried cutting back my observation hours, but scheduling had been pretty rigid. I would come home exhausted, not knowing what type of Bella I'd find. Time seemed to blur, five minutes felt like a week, and a week felt like five minutes. Carlisle approached me one day at the hospital after he found me staring off into space instead of reading a case study on a new drug for diabetes.

"Edward, have you made arrangements for this weekend?"

"What?"

"It's the second week of August." It finally dawned on me. The annual Cullen family camping trip was this weekend. How could I forget such a time-honored tradition? Oh yeah, my girlfriend's stalker was on the loose and I was studying my ass off for med school.

"Um, dad? Don't you think we should postpone the trip? All things considered…"

"Nonsense. Bella can come with us if she likes, same goes for the usual suspects. Besides, I need to keep an eye on that Jasper. That's my baby girl we're talking about." I snorted, Alice was anything but innocent. I didn't bother telling him the gory details of her last boyfriend, which she ungratefully bestowed upon me. Those images will be burned into my memory forever.

"You don't need to worry about Jasper, he's quite the gentleman." I repeated Alice's description, hoping it'd win points with both my father and sister.

"I just figured that the entire family could use a break. The stress seems to be affecting Bella more than anyone else, I think she needs this, Edward. So do you." The fact that he referred to Bella as family made me smile. I knew that he was right, everyone needed a few days away from the civilized world.

"I'll ask her tonight." I promised.

As I parked my baby in the garage, I hoped that Bella would be in a good mood, but from the clatter coming from the kitchen, it didn't look good. As I got closer, I heard a sound that I'd missed. Bella's bell-like laughter was tinkling lightly, as well as Esme's soft chuckle and Alice's raging gasp-snort thing she does when something is too funny to just laugh at. Maybe tonight would be smooth sailing after all.

"What have you ladies gotten yourselves into?" I asked, taking in the sight of piles of dirty dishes and full bowls of things that looked inedible.

"It's Carlisle's half birthday." Esme beamed. Every single occasion in our house was one to celebrate according to my mother and sister.

"We're making a cake!" Bella glowed, a sight that I'd sorely missed. I turned to Esme, not before sneaking a finger into a bowl and tasting it. Not bad. A little too sweet, but not bad.

"Hands off, Edward Anthony Cullen." My mother chastised. "Lemon meringue is his favorite, and it certainly won't taste very good with your grubby fingers in it." She then whacked the back of my hand with a wooden spoon.

"Ow!" I yelped. Bella laughed some more and offered me a paper towel to wipe my sticky finger on. "Thanks babe."

"You deserved that." Alice stuck her tongue out at me, but before I could get her back with my own spoon, she darted out of reach and took off into the living room.

"You're in a good mood. What's up?" Bella asked, jumping up to sit on the counter, bringing her to my eye level.

"Don't tell Carlisle. I'm going to finish wrapping his gift." My mother whispered before tip-toeing up the stairs. Bella and I both zippered our lips and giggled.

"So?" Bella prodded me with her little fingers poking into my arm.

"Do you like camping?" I didn't know why I was so nervous, but Bella's confused expression gave me butterflies.

"I've only gone once or twice with Charlie. It's okay, but the bugs suck. Literally." She snorted and wiggled her butt on the counter. Absolutely adorable.

"Would you like to go…you know, with me and my family?" And for one moment, my entire world hangs on her answer. Something this small shouldn't make me this flustered, but it does. I didn't think I could stand her rejection.

Her smile was like the sun breaking through the clouds.

"Of course I'll come! Anything to get out of this house." She leaped off the counter and shocked me with a tight hug.

"Can't. Breathe." I squawked. Her arms were deceiving. They looked so little and thin, but they really were vice grips.

"Oh, sorry." She gazed into my eyes and bit her lip. Looking back at her, I forget everything in the world but her body and her lips. There's no Dimitri, no college, no hospital. I drew her hair out of her face and leaned to taste her tentatively. A slight gasp escaped her mouth and she closed the tiny gap between us. I hadn't felt this alive in forever, and I was kissing Bella with all the renewed fervor I had. Her tongue met mine, the sensation drove me crazy. I pulled her hips flush with mine, and the contact there caused me to moan into her mouth. She bucked into me, and the friction caused her to whimper slightly.

"Fuck, Bella we're still in the kitchen." I breathed into her ear as I turned my attention from her lips to her neck. She made soft mewling noises as I traveled up the length of her neck with my mouth, nipping and sucking as I went.

"Then..._yes __god_...we better move.._._" I hoisted her hips up and she wrapped her legs around my waist. The feel of her pressed up against me was incredible. I couldn't imagine how good it would feel to be inside her.

I made my way up the stairs with Bella wrapped around me, pulling at my hair, something that feels a lot better than it sounds. Once I got us into my room, I laid her on my bed and locked my door, I didn't want any unwelcome visitors. When I turned back to Bella, she already had her shirt off. She was wearing this insanely low-cut bra with tiny bows along the edges and straps.

"Shit. You look so good." I so eloquently mumbled. She grinned devilishly as I cupped my hands over her breasts. This was unknown territory for us, so I didn't know what she was ready for. I squeezed softly and kissed her neck where it meats her shoulder, testing the waters. I was rewarded with sighs and positive chants.

"How did you..._sigh_..know that was my spot?" She whispered. I didn't bother answering her, because really, I had far mores experience in this area than she did, and I didn't want to embarrass her. The desire to see her nipples was driving me crazy, and I dipped my fingers under the cup of her bra. I looked up at her to find even darker brown eyes staring at me and a rosy lip between her teeth.

"Is this okay?" I asked, pushing the cups down to reveal her peaks. Her hair bounced in affirmation, and I began licking the swell of her chest.

"You have no idea how good that feels." She ran her fingers through my hair, tugging slightly at the ends. My hard-on was straining at the zipper of my jeans, and I needed some relief, preferably inside my girlfriend. Out of the blue, I felt her hand grip my package over my jeans and I groaned at the contact. I returned the favor when I sucked unexpectedly on one of her nipples, wetting it and making it stiffen. "Oh wow." She gasped. I smirked into her chest and continued my oral exploration of her breasts.

"Edward? We're going to give Carlisle his gift now!" My mother shouted from the other side of the door. I scrambled back to the door and tried to catch my breath.

"Coming!" I yelled back while handing Bella her shirt from off of the floor. "I'm so sorry." I whispered as she passed me on her way to the bathroom. She nodded solemnly, and forced a smile. I tried to smooth my hair and made my way downstairs for a pointless family gathering.

**BPOV**

I stared at myself in Edward's bathroom mirror. My face was flushed, as was the skin around my neck and collarbone. My eyes were a shade or two too dark and my hair was completely disheveled. I mentally patted myself on the back for picking out a girlie bra this morning, I was indeed rewarded for my choice. I sighed and pulled my shirt over my head, it covered my pinkish chest which abated my embarrassment slightly. I smiled slyly to myself. Edward _finally_ gave in. Even though we had been interrupted, I at least had some confirmation that he wanted me. And for now, that was all I needed. After running my fingers through my hair (Edward's family didn't need to see my sex, or lack their of, hair), I made my way to the half-birthday celebrations. I barely celebrated my own birthday, so the concept was a little foreign to me. But hey, any occasion that demanded cake was okay with me.

"Nice of you to join us, Bella!" Alice smirked.

"I was in the bathroom." I lied and smiled.

"Well we couldn't present the cake without one of the bakers." Esme entered the dining room with the prettiest cake I'd ever seen. It was covered in the softest, billowiest pale yellow meringue. One small yellow candle rested in the center, a tiny flame licking back and forth as the cake was set down in front of Carlisle. It had turned out much better than I imagined. My favorite thing about baking was the fact that the product was completely different from the ingredients; the change fascinated me.

"Its beautiful, sweetheart, and thank you girls." Carlisle leaned up to catch a quick kiss from his wife, and it was clear that the two were still very much in love. It gave me hope that not all marriages were doomed to fail, and that Renee and Charlie were the exception and not the rule.

"Happy half-birthday, dad." Alice sang while flitting around the room and enveloping us all into a crowded hug. I was content to be pressed against Edward for a second or two, and I noticed he was a tad slow to release me. It was the little things like that which really made me all giddy and flustered inside.

"So Bella, have you decided to come on the world-famous Cullen camping trip?" Carlisle flashed a brilliant smile in my direction, and I was momentarily blinded. _So that's where his son gets it._

"Of course. I wouldn't miss it, what with it being world famous and all."I recovered and steadied myself against a chair.

"We are so sharing a tent!" Alice squealed. Edward rolled his eyes and Carlisle just chuckled.

"We're so happy you decided to come, dear." Esme patted my shoulder and began cutting/deflating the cake.

After having a foodgasm of cake, Alice dragged me up to her room to see the itinerary for the trip she'd already printed out. It reminded me of the really strange and slightly sci-fi conversation we had after Charlie's arrival. I had asked her if anything was wrong, and she made me promise not to think she was crazy. I did my best to keep from snorting. Alice was a very good friend, but she did have some insane tendencies.

_"Bella, I-I don't know how to say this, but I think I can see the future." _I stared blankly at her and cocked my head to the side.

_"Like Sylvia Brown? Only you're a lot prettier."_ She looked hurt and smug simultaneously. How she did that I couldn't fathom.

_"No. I had this extremely vivid dream where someone was chasing you. Next thing I know, this Dimitri guy comes out of no where and is after you!"_

_"Alice, I'm pretty sure that he's been looking for me for a long time."_ I looked down at my hands and tried to suppress all the violent things he said to me when I told him I was leaving Phoenix.

~o~

"Are you sure you have everything?" Edward asked, for the fiftieth time. I rolled my eyes and playfully shoved him out of my way.

"Yes, Edward. Now, we're holding everyone up, are you going in Emmett's van or Carlisle's Range Rover?" The gravel crunched under my new hiking boots, purchased at Newton's Outfitters not an hour ago. I hoisted my backpack onto my shoulders and continued on to the garage. Edward followed behind me carrying the Coleman stove and his own pack.

"Whichever car you're in." He whispered as he nuzzled into my neck. How he managed to do this while we were walking, I didn't even know. What I did know was that it made my entire body blush from his proximity.

"Bella is totally coming in my van." Emmett yelled from the driver's seat. He honked his ridiculous horn (which was to the tune of woody woodpecker's laugh...) and tried to imitate the sound. It was painful.

"I'll go in your van as long as you promise to never do that again." I climbed into the back of the affectionately named "shaggin' wagon" and sat in one of the moldy smelling bench seats. Edward slid in next to me and grimaced once the smell of Emmett's van finally hit him.

"Jesus, what died in here?" He cringed upon wafting the upholstery.

"That's just the smell of testosterone, Eddie boy." Emmett winked back at us and gave us a thumbs up. Rose was the last to enter the behemoth, and parked herself in the passenger seat.

"I'm praying that there aren't any love stains back here." I leaned over and whispered to Edward. His face went white for a little, and then pink. "What are you thinking?" Edward usually didn't blush. He shook his head and took a sip from his water bottle. He must have been even more disgusted by the prospect of sitting in ancient jizz than I was. I made a mental note to use extra detergent on these shorts.

The best part about living on the Olympic Peninsula was that a national park was only a few hours drive at most. Unfortunately, Emmett insisted on listening to 80's thrash metal for the entire trip. Due to the mercy of some higher power, the drive only lasted a half an hour. We reached our campsite, which was on the bank of the picturesque Lake Mills, at a little past 11:00am. The beauty of the place seemed to seep into my pores, and I instantly felt at peace. I took a deep breath and snapped a picture with my little digital camera, a graduation present from Charlie. The woods surrounding our campsite were impossibly green, and I couldn't help but think of Edward's eyes. I suppressed a stupid giggle.

"Bella have you ever set up a tent?" Carlisle called me over to where he was laying out poles and various swaths of waterproof fabric.

"I watched my father do it, but I can't say that I was paying close attention." He smiled and showed me how to extend the poles and slip them through the grommets, securing the structure of the tent. Soon, we had assembled an impressive looking tent, rain flap and all.

"So you're a regular Bear Grylls now eh?" Jasper passed me a water and admired my handiwork. He and Alice had driven with Carlisle and Esme in the Range Rover, and had luckily missed most of Emmett's off-key singing to Exodus and Heathen, to name a few.

"You know it." I quipped back, intensely proud of my little tent.

"Just don't go eating any bugs or frogs, please." Rose interjected, holding her stomach and pretending to puke all over the empty fire pit.

"That is a promise you can count on me to keep." I knocked back some more water and received the bug spray that Alice handed me.

We spent the day exploring the trails around Lake Mills and we found the junction between the Lake and where it met the Elwha River. The scenery was stunning, and I often fell behind because of my frequent picture-taking stops. But Edward always stayed with me, holding onto my hips on an outcrop so I wouldn't fall. At times, it felt like it was just the two of us hiking through the Washington woods, and somehow, even with all of the open sky and peeking mountains, the atmosphere was intimate. While he was admiring a particularly stunning view of the river, I snapped a picture of Edward. I hit the review button, and was extremely disgruntled by how the camera got the color of his hair wrong. It was too brassy and not rich enough. I sighed and saved it anyway; he did look amazing in the early evening light.

Back at our campsite, Rose and I giggled as we tried our best to peel burnt marshmallows off of our metal skewers. Jasper and Emmett were staging an epic battle with their 'swords', and Edward was a study in concentration, trying desperately to only lightly brown his marshmallow. Suddenly, it burst into flames and blackened. He swore quietly and tried again with a fresh mallow. Esme and Carlisle brought over the chocolate and graham crackers from the food bag, and passed them out. I snuggled next to Edward on our cozy little log, feeling the warmth from his body and the fire surrounding me.

I pressed myself into his side further, resting my head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around my waist, holding me close. I raised my head up to take in his scent. He seemed to smell even better with exposure to the wilderness.

"I wish we were sharing a tent." I whispered into his ear.

**EPOV**

_"I wish we were sharing a tent."_

Fuck. I already wanted Bella, but she sure as hell wasn't making this easy. We had come close to having sex multiple times before the trip, but each and every time we had been interrupted. It was fucking frustrating. Bella was doing so well, she didn't have as many nightmares and she was sleeping soundly at least four days a week. And when she mentioned _love stains_, it made me want to take her right there in Emmett's van. Not that I would, our first time together would _not_ be happening like that.

"Me too." I gave her an apologetic smile and tried to hide my disappointment. Carlisle and Esme had already hammered out the sleeping arrangements, and unfortunately for all the guys, each tent was single-sex only. Rose and Bella. Alice and Esme. Jasper and Emmett. Me and Carlisle. We lined up our tents 2x3 and it looked almost like a tiny little barracks. The fire was dwindling and the night air was becoming crisper, all signs of the day coming to a close. We said our good nights and kissed our girls, some more deeply than others _COUGH...EMMETT...COUGH_ and retired to our respective tents.

Before drifting off completely, I asked Carlisle a few questions.

"Why didn't chief Swan come?"

"He was going to spend most of the weekend fishing down at La Push, I think. That and I think he didn't want to intrude."

"He would have been welcome to come." I still didn't understand the distant relationship between Bella and her father.

"Bella and her father are very much alike. Both try to make the others around them happy first. They rarely think of themselves, opting instead to please the ones around them. He just wants to make Bella happy, and right now, he figures that you make her happy. I can't say that I disagree with that." I could see his smile even in the dark.

"It must have been hard for him, then. The divorce, I mean." Bella hadn't told me much about it, though she was only two at the time.

"We had just moved to Forks, your mother and I, but the Swans were a case of teenage love that didn't last. I still don't think Charlie is over Renee. " I nodded and thought about how strong Bella must be to deal with divorced parents and a guy like Dimitri. My admiration for her only increased. Soon I fell into a soundless sleep, the quiet chatter of frogs and insects lulling me under the fog.

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**I've always wanted to go camping in Washington, it sounds so pretty. I'm actually going camping in White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire/Vermont. I'm so excited. Although I hope it ends a little better than Bella's trip...**

**muhahaha  
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	15. Chapter 14

**Hello! Sorry about the hiatus, but vacations never seem to last as long as they should. I hope you all are well and ready for another installment. Unfortunately, I didn't get as much writing done as I wanted to, owing to a nosy bear and a downpour at our campsite. I'll try to get as much finished as possible, hopefully by Monday. **

**Enjoy :)  
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BPOV**

Saturday morning started with a light breakfast of instant oatmeal with dried fruit. Edward pulled out a large map and began tracing possible trails, fiddling with his compass along the way. He looked incredibly hot.

"Which trail are we taking today?" I asked while rubbing his shoulders.

"Mmmm," He moaned. "That feels so good." A sudden bolt of heat shot through me, and I wanted his hands on me in the worst way.

"When you make that noise, it makes me want you so bad." I teased into his ear. There was something about the woods that made Edward even more sexy than he already was. His back arched and twitched as he turned to face me with deep green eyes.

"You have _no_ idea, Bella." He quivered. I smiled; we were finally on the same page. Some days I still couldn't believe it, and that he'd wake up and decide I wasn't worth it. For some reason, that was scarier than Dimitri. And _that_ was a little disconcerting.

It was decided by campsite consensus that we would tackle a mountain today. Well, I certainly didn't agree. We were to climb Hurricane Hill, a short drive from our campsite. 5757ft. I laughed. They didn't.

"Are you serious?" I was not cut out for mountain-climbing, I could barely stay upright on a perfectly level surface.

"We only got two-thirds of the way last year, and we want to see if we can summit this time!" Alice chirped.

"It's not that bad, Bella." Edward tried to soothe me by rubbing my arms, but it didn't work. I was still not a happy camper. Literally.

"We have trekking poles so you won't stumble." Carlisle offered a pair to me. They looked sturdy enough, though I still wasn't sure how I was going to manage such an incline. I chewed my lip. I didn't want to ruin the trip by making a fuss, so I sucked it up and loaded my day-pack with tons of first aid supplies. I was preparing for the worst.

Hurricane Hill was breathtaking. The ridges, though steep, were forested and brilliant green. The peak was bare and the rock shone in the early morning sun, and it gave me an iota of confidence.

"Can you see why we want to hike it?" Edward spoke softly as we set off on the trail.

"It's gorgeous." I murmur. Luckily for me and the other inept hikers out there, the trail was clearly marked with bright yellow blazes and yellow tape tied to tree branches. Even so, Edward brought his compass. _"Just in case."_ He winked while patting his pocket where it rested.

I tripped more than a few times, but the extent of the damage was a scraped knee and dirt stained shorts. We reached the halfway point at around noon and stopped for a lunch of trail mix. Emmett couldn't help but throw hand-fulls of seeds at an eager and overly-friendly chipmunk. I was surprised to see Rose enjoying herself so much, though. Her idea of a perfect weekend included a trip to the spa and perhaps a quick shopping excursion to Seattle. The only dirt she let near her skin was the grease of the '67 Mustang she was rebuilding. I knew Em's presence had a role in her happiness in the great big dirty wilderness. Alice seemed to skip and dance her way up the steep trail and I envied her grace and general coordination. Around two o'clock my pack began to feel like it was weighed down by a load of bricks.

"Do you want to stop for water?' Edward asked me, eying the sweat on my brow.

"Yes please." I rasped. I thunked my bag onto a nearby log and plopped myself unceremoniously next to it. I gulped greedily from my water bottle; the liquid cooling me from the inside.

"No wonder you're having such a hard time with your pack, Bella." Edward fidgeted with elastic pulls and adjusted straps while I stared ignorantly at him. He motioned me to put on the pack, and I did, but not without slight trepidation.

"The chest straps should be buckled right about where your sternum is." He pointed to the buckle dangling beside my chest.

"Um, I barely passed sophomore biology." I bit my lip.

"The bone right above your, your, um...cleavage?" He awkwardly choked on the last word, probably wondering if I was going to slap him or not. I nodded with a wry smile and clicked the buckle closed.

"The best fitting packs should make carrying weight much easier and less stressful." He added, sneaking a quick glance at my chest. _Just to see if I've done it properly for sure._ I mentally snorted. "The hip-belt should be secured around your navel." He continued. His fingers grazed the top of my shorts, tickling the skin there. I couldn't help but shiver from his touch. With a 'click' I was locked and loaded and ready to go.

"Much better." I sighed.

"Come on!" Alice whined. "We'll never make it to the top if we stop every ten minutes." She pouted and kicked a stone from its embedded place in the soil.

"It's important that we all keep hydrated, Alice." Carlisle injected in his most doctorly voice. She rolled her eyes and handed me my trekking pole. And off we went, up the worst use of the word 'hill' ever in the history of hiking.

An hour later, we reached the summit.

"We'll have to set our sights higher next your." Esme chuckled and kissed her husband earnestly. _I don't think I can handle anything bigger. _Whoa. Did I really just inject myself into another year with Edward and his family? I started questioning things left and right. _How long will we last? What's going to happen in the fall? _

My revelations were broken by Emmett's crude attempts at yodeling.

"Jesus. Please make it stop!" Jasper and Alice cried in unison.

We made it back to the campsite around seven-thirty and we were all thoroughly famished. Wieners were roasted and gobbled by all, even Esme. Esme who would only cook something if she'd seen Martha Stewart demonstrate it first. Needless to say, tents were visited early. Snug in my sleeping bag, I drifted off into a heavy, dreamless sleep.

**EPOV**

Everyone was sleeping soundlessly in their tents. Everyone except me. I didn't want to wake Carlisle with the rustling of my sleeping bag, so I left the tent to read by flashlight at the picnic table. In truth, I wasn't reading at all. I sat facing Bella's tent, wondering what she was dreaming about. I hoped that she dreamt about me. I also hoped that she didn't have another nightmare. I would be kidding myself if I didn't want her to come on Cullen camps for as long as she found them interesting. There just wasn't a logical future in my mind that didn't involve Bella. She was always there.

_But what if she isn't?_

I shook my head as if I could actually dislodge the iota of doubt that found its way into my brain. I heard movement from her tent and quickly reopened my book in case Bella or Rosalie caught me staring like a perv. The sound quieted and was replaced by soft murmuring. It sounded like Bella's voice, but I couldn't be sure from this distance. I stalked closer, trying not to step on twigs or anything that might give away my seriously creepy position. Now sitting outside the front of her tent, I could hear much better.

"Edward." Bella sighed. A shit-eating grin spread out across my face. I could imagine her peaceful face and soft hair spread out on her pillow. I ached to hold her. This trip was the first time we had slept apart since Dimitri's return, and I hadn't realized how much I missed waking up to her. I leaned my head closer to catch some of the softer mumblings.

"I love you. You don't have to choose, you can have both." She rambled. I mouthed a silent 'I love you too' back at her. My heart swelled to hear her say the three words that I'd felt for so long now. I didn't understand what she meant by choosing, but as sleep-talking goes, she was normally incoherent anyway. I chalked it up to an exhausting day, and having satisfied my craving for anything Bella, I slipped back into my own tent. It didn't take long for me to finally find peace and sleep, not when I was thinking of her.

I awoke to screaming.

I figured Bella was just having another nightmare, so I rose quickly to go and settle her. When I unzipped my tent, I nearly shat my pants. A big brutish looking guy was holding one hand over Bella's mouth and the other gripped her wrist. My stomach and heart hit the floor, but my feet went into action without my brain giving them orders. Emmett appeared at my left and together we jumped. While I was punching and prying to get his meaty arms off of her, I caught Bella's eye. And everything seemed to stand still. She never looked away, holding my gaze as I heard a deafening crack. Her eyes closed and watered and I knew that it was her wrist that had broken. Jasper suddenly came from behind me and with one solid punch knocked the guy I assumed to be Dimitri off his balance. He inadvertently released Bella and she stumbled to the ground, her tiny wrist dangling at a sickening angle. My fists slammed into Dimitri's chest and face, my eyes only seeing red. Somebody was pulling at me, restraining. Muffled sounds became shouting and I realized it was Carlisle screaming at me to stop. My breathing was ragged but it didn't slow the coursing adrenaline in my veins. Emmett and Jasper held Dimitri firmly, keeping his arms behind his back. Involuntarily I scanned for Bella and she was being seated at the picnic table where Esme could look at her wrist. There were so many things I wanted to spit at that monster, but punching his lights out would probably send a clearer message.

Bella suddenly stood up and shook off Rose, Alice, and Esme's attempts to get her to calm down. She walked over to Dimitri and looked him straight in the eye. I felt as if I was watching a movie. He smiled devilishly down at her, thinking that he had won. I knew better than that.

"You are a fucking piece of filth," She spat. The smug look was washed clean from his face. "You belong in the sickest, lowest level of hell, and I'm here to make sure you get there." She stood inches from his face, railing him over and over. "You will never, ever, step foot within a hundred miles of me ever again." Her shoulders shook in anger.

"What makes you think I won't come back to claim what's mine?" He snarled.

"Prison. Coupled with a pretty nasty restraining order, you twat." She then took a small step back, only to jut forward and slam her kneecap into his groin. Dimitri crumpled to the ground and whimpered.

"That was for me." The entire campsite stared at her in shock. "And this," She grabbed his face in her hands and made him look into her eye. Using her good hand, she slapped him hard across the cheek, leaving a crimson hand print. "That was for Evelyn Sawyer." Standing in her boxer shorts and tank, hair a disheveled mess, angry Bella was fucking hot. Emmett grinned like a clown and he and Jasper hauled Dimitri upright.

"You're still weak, you bitch." Dimitri growled. Inside, I snapped. I found the strength to throw Carlisle off of me. I slammed my knuckles into Dimitri's nose, blood covering my fingers almost instantly.

"She's stronger than you ever will be." I fumed. My words didn't register, however. Dimitri was out cold.

"We'll take this motherfucker into town where Chief Swan can book him." Emmett called as the two of them dragged Dimitri into the van. Carlisle and I rushed to Bella's side.

"Let me look at it." Carlisle pressed. She offered him her limp wrist and cringed as he prodded the broken bones. "It looks like an old scar was burst open." He examined. Bella snorted.

"Looks like he'll claim responsibility for that, too."

"You mean he gave you the first one?" I asked incredulously. She nodded and gasped at the contact of the rubbing alcohol and the cut. "Fuck." I croaked and raked my hands through my hair.

"I can't believe he followed us out here!" Alice trembled. "He probably watched us while we were sleeping!" She shrieked, going into hysterics. Esme rubbed her shoulders and soothed her somewhat.

"I failed." Rosalie whispered.

"What?" We all said. She knelt at Bella's feet.

"I promised to protect you. And I failed." She was on the verge of tears, and I had never seen Rose cry. Bella wrapped her friend in a one armed hug.

"None of us could have predicted this. Don't blame yourself, sweetie." I still couldn't fathom how Bella could be so calm. I pressed my face into her hair, kissing her head.

"We need to get you to a hospital, Bella." Carlisle said sternly.

"I'm coming." I stood and shrugged on a hoddie.

"No."

"What?"

"Edward, you need to pack up the campsite." Carlisle looked me in the eye and stared me down. "Help the girls pack up, we'll call you if anything else develops."

"Bella needs a calm environment, dear." Esme moved and took my shaking hands, holding them in her own. I offered her a weak smile and nodded. I helped Carlisle pack a few things into the Range Rover and helped Bella into the passenger seat. I held her to my chest tightly, resting my cheek on the top of her head.

"I'm sorry." She whispered.

"Whatever for, silly girl?" I kissed her cheek and down to her jaw and up to her nose.

"For ruining the trip."

"Bella. This trip couldn't possibly have been ruined by anything unless this morning had ended badly. I'm just so happy you're okay." I wiped an errant tear from her eye. She nodded held my hand tightly. Carlisle got in and started the engine, signaling her departure. I leaned into her and kissed her neck. "Be safe." I whispered into her ear before falling back and closing the car door.

**BPOV**

I detest hospitals. Everything is either too loud or too quiet. Not to mention the awful sterilized smell that hangs about in the rooms and hallways. After an x-ray, it was revealed that I had 5 broken bones in my wrist, and that it would take surgery to get them all lined up again. My heart dropped; I had hoped that I wouldn't have to make any other trips to Port Angeles Memorial. The nurses had set me up in a curtained off room to wait for Charlie to come and sign papers saying that it was okay for the surgery. It still bothered me a little that he was privy to my health care issues until I was twenty-six. I'd rather have the insurance, though.

The curtains were pulled back in a sudden rustle of synthetic fabric.

"Holy shit Bella!" Jacob boomed. I hadn't expected the La Push gang. Billy and a few others that Charlie was close with hung back near the nurse's station.

"I'm fine." I rolled my eyes.

"You sure don't look _fine._" He appraised my condition, probably noting the small cuts and bruises on my arms. "What-what happened to your wrist?" His eyes bulged a little at the swollen and gauzed appendage. I looked away and bit my lip. I hadn't told Jake about Dimitri, and I knew he'd over-react just like everyone else. But I didn't want to lie to him either; he was like a brother to me.

"Bella, you can tell me." He pulled a chair next to my bed and sat with me. Tears pricked at my eyes, and my teeth dug into my lip harder. "D-did someone..._hurt_ you?" He rasped. All I could do was nod. "Bellabear." He croaked and pulled me into a gentle hug. The weight of the day finally caught up with me and I fell apart in Jake's arms.

"Where is she?" Shouting and familiar voices danced into my ears. Pulling away from Jake, I looked up to see Edward. I yearned to feel his comforting embrace, but he met my eyes with cold hatred. I gaped at him as he ran from the room, taking my heart along with him.

"Who was that guy?" Jake snorted.

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**Um, yeah. You may send me all your hate mail, I deserve it. **

**Side note: Hurricane Hill and its stats are real. You can go and climb that sucker if you really want to. Good luck, though. Also, Edward really knows his stuff about backpacks, so listen up you trekkers. **

**Other side note: Believe me, chipmunks are far too friendly. To the point of being scary and slightly possessive. Go ahead and ask me how I know this. You shall receive an interesting and slightly hilarious answer. **


	16. Chapter 15

**I thought to myself last night, _you know what? I have nothing better to do at 3am, might as well write._ And that I did. I'm sure this breaks the record for my quickest update. You may call me Speedy Gonzales, even though I'm the farthest thing from being Mexican or Spanish. **

**Thank you all a bundle for the reviews and story alerts/favorites, they always make me smile and do a little jig. I promise this chapter ends happier than the last one.  
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BPOV**

_Shit. Shit. Shit._

I threw off my itchy hospital blankets and attempted to sit up and go after Edward.

"Where do you think you're going?" Dr. Peter Drakos scolded me as he walked into my partition.

"Please, I have to go find someone!" I pleaded. I knew that with each passing second, Edward was farther and farther away.

"I'm sorry Miss Swan, but you need the rest. You'll be discharged in a few days with a supply of painkillers. Until then, you'll have to sit tight." He gave me a fatherly smile and deposited my chart on the table. Painkillers did sound pretty good right now, the ones the nurses gave me still hadn't started working yet, though. I was cranky and Edward was gone.

"Bella, do you want me to find him?" Jake asked, reading my mind completely. We had always been slightly telepathic with each other, even as kids.

"Please tell Edward to come back." He nodded and gave me another sorry glance. And then I was alone. But only briefly.

"Bella!" Charlie bellowed, plowing past nurses and other visitors. His eyes held worry and anger, and I couldn't help but think that I had put him through this again.

"Hi, dad." I answered feebly.

"H-how bad is it?" He asked, scratching his head and avoiding my eyes.

"Um, I'll need surgery. The nurse has the forms." I stared at my feet peeking out from under the too short blanket. I hadn't realized that I'd come to the hospital barefoot.

"Chirst." He muttered, rubbing his tired eyes.

"Dad?"

"Yeah, Bells?"

"H-have you seen Edward?"

"I thought I saw him in the parking lot. I figured he'd be in here with you, though." Charlie could sense there was something amiss; he was annoyingly perceptive like that.

"Me too." I squeaked, on the verge of tears. Again.

"Baby girl, he can't get you anymore." Charlie's voice cracked, unusually filled with emotion. I nodded and the tears came in full force again. I didn't know where they were coming from, I thought for sure I'd run the reservoir dry. "You're going to have to call your mother eventually." He added, only to make me even crankier. Renee would surely flip out and order me to come home to Phoenix immediately. But I couldn't just up and leave Forks behind, I had built so much here and I wasn't going to knock it down now. "Shh, rest now." He smoothed my hair and squeezed my hand. Soon a hazy fog creeped across my eyes and I knew the drugs had taken effect. Sleep was inevitable.

I didn't know what time it was when I woke up, or even what day it was. It felt like I had slept for a month, and my eyes had a nasty layer crust around my lids. I groaned and stretched, feeling a stiffness that I definitely didn't remember. Must have been the lumpy hospital mattress. Immediately I felt the throbbing pain in my wrist coupled with a strange heaviness.

"Bella, how are you feeling?" I blinked and realized that my little room was filled with my scattered family. Carlisle was hovering above me, Jake and Billy sat in two metal folding chairs to my left, Charlie paced the floor at the foot of my bed, and Rose, Alice, and Esme occupied the couch to my right. _Where's my Edward?_ His absence was heavy and surprisingly painful.

"I-I-why does it hurt so much?" I closed my eyes in pain when I tried to move my wrist. _Really bad idea, Swan._

"You are on some heavy medication, you probably don't remember going into surgery." Esme said, giving me a pat on my good hand. Thankfully, Dimitri decided to mangle my left wrist, and not my right.

"They had to put some pins and screws in to replace the shattered bones and keep everything in place." Carlisle did his best to explain the operation, but the only information I was concerned with was Edward's location.

"Where's Edward?" I pressed. Everyone in the room shifted uncomfortably. _Great._

"He's in the cafeteria getting coffees." Alice answered cooly. I knew that look. Edward was in big trouble.

"Oh." Was all I managed to answer with. "When can I go home?"

"Tomorrow, after Dr. Drakos checks the incision." Carlisle smiled.

"He's going to fit you with a sling." Rose pipped up. I could still see some guilt in her face, and I knew that as soon as I was in my right mind, I'd dispel it.

"Better than a cast, I guess." I mumbled.

"But we can't sign a sling." Alice reminded me.

"True." She always had the ability to make me smile. Even when I was the grumpiest person on the planet.

Dr. Drakos entered and greeted everyone.

"I'm afraid visiting hours are over. It's sleepy-time for you, Miss Swan." _What am I, eight?_

"We'll be back as soon as we can." Jake called over his shoulder. I tried my best to smile at everyone, but I had an inkling that painkillers had somehow made their way into my system. It seemed like I'd be doing a lot of sleeping in this damn hospital.

My lids creaked open, my vision seriously blurred. I thought I caught a flash of bronze hair by the curtain, but when I blinked to clear the haze, it was gone. I sighed heavily and resigned to sleep some more, hoping that my dreams were better than my current reality.

I opened my eyes to find Alice's tiny face inches away from mine.

"Gah! Woman what are you doing?" I slurred.

"You're going home!" She chirped. It hit me: what home would I be returning to? Would I continue to stay at the Cullen's? Or would Charlie insist that I come back to the old house? I probably had over-stayed my welcome at Cullen Manor, but I couldn't imagine being so far away from Edward every day.

The realization that I hadn't seen Edward in two days hit me like a tractor-trailer. Alice sensed my disposition instantly.

"Its not you, Bella. He's being really, _really_ stupid right now. He won't listen to any of us, either."

"I-I didn't do anything wrong. Did I?"

"Of course not! Edward is the biggest drama queen there is, don't let him think that you're to blame." She threw off the blankets and helped me sit up. "You need a shower." She sniffed unabashedly. "Oh, and I brought you some shoes." She wiggled a pair of flip-flops in front of my face.

"Tell me something I don't know." I rolled my eyes. "Where is everybody?"

"Jasper and Rose are working, Carlisle is on shift, Esme is at home baking you a 'get well soon' cake, Charlie is at the station, and Edward, well, he has his head up his ass." She smiled innocently. "The color doesn't do anything for you." She teased and presented me with my brand new sling.

I gingerly lifted my left arm and laid it in the stiff black fabric of the sling. Once the strap had been adjusted, my wrist felt surprisingly more comfortable. It still hurt like a son of a bitch, though. I smiled through the pain and allowed Alice to help me into the wheelchair. I still didn't understand why hospitals make you use a wheelchair on your way out, especially if you haven't messed up your legs. It was a stupid and slow way to get around. That is, until Alice and I decided that it was best to leave the good folks at Port Angeles Memorial with a good memory of Isabella Swan. She positioned me at the end of the hallway facing the automatic doors leading to the parking lot.

"3..2..1...GO!" I screamed and she began pushing me as fast as her legs could run. We squealed and laughed while trying to dodge nurses and patients. The doors had barely slid open in time for us to sail through them, screeching to a stop in front of Alice's Mercedes. She panted, out of breath, and gave me a shit-eating grin.

"We have to get our own wheelchairs." I stated.

"I'm sure Emmett would love to institute a state wide wheelchair racing tournament." She added. I couldn't help but giggle.

I made Alice to promise to drive slower. She happily ignored me. My mind eventually wondered where Edward was. I sighed and shut my eyes, unwilling to let my worst fears be explored by my over-active imagination.

"Tell me what you're thinking." She finally broke the silence of the car ride.

"I'm thinking that he's finally seen what a burden I am." I whispered.

"Bullshit. He obviously hasn't told you about the past year, has he?" She cocked and eyebrow and gave me a lopsided smile.

"No?"

"The band, lord knows what they're calling themselves now, first started playing at Jasper's about a year ago. The very first night they played a show, Edward saw you and couldn't take his eyes off of you." I snorted.

"Yeah, and Brenda Big Boobs, too. Oh and Holly Hair Extensions. Tell me, could he not take his eyes off of them too?" I had forgotten how bitter I could be sometimes.

"I get it. You're an English major, you can use alliteration. Now shut up and listen to me. He was a little crushed that you paid no attention to him. Edward, let's face it, is a little spoiled. He's not used to not getting what he wants, so when you acted as if he didn't exist, his M.O. was to make you jealous. Ergo, the bimbos."

"Doesn't change the fact that he slept with all of them!" I wailed. It wasn't fair.

"Don't be stupid, Bella." She snapped. "Do you really think he would take them back to my house, with my parents and myself sleeping a few rooms away?" I shook my head, Edward was smarter than that. "He always went back to their place. And most of the time, those girls were too drunk to function, so he made sure they got home safely before leaving them to sleep it off."

The hamster in my brain finally started using his wheel, and puzzle pieces started clicking together.

"B-but why didn't he just tell me all of that?"

"What guy wants his girlfriend to think he's a manwhore?" She chuckled.

"That still doesn't change the fact that _he wasn't there_." I mumbled.

"No, it doesn't. And that's why you're coming home with me to kick his ass and explain." She smiled smugly as she pulled into the long driveway that had become so familiar to me.

**EPOV**

There she was, in the arms of another man. My brain went into shut-down mode, and I knew that if I remained any longer, I might do something that would require me paying damages to the hospital. I had to get out of here. The walls felt like they were closing in on me, and every step I took, I saw her face flicker across my vision.

_How could she do this to me?_

My fists balled up and I felt my insides, mainly my heart, clinch and stutter. I threw open the doors and pressed my back against the brick wall, letting myself slide down to the sidewalk. Every word, every action, was it all a lie? Doubt seeped its way into my every pore, corrupting the image of Bella that I'd manufactured in my mind. I pulled at my hair to the point of pain, not allowing myself to manifest the hurt into tears. I wouldn't give her the satisfaction of that.

_What if she meant the 'I love you' for him? What if she meant she had to choose between me and him?_

A strangled sob erupted from my throat and I pressed my fists into my eyes. Never once had it crossed my mind that we would face something like this. I cursed myself and my stupid unrealistic fantasy. A tiny pang of guilt for leaving her in her condition briefly hit my stomach. _What comfort would I be when he's doing such a good job_? I thought bitterly.

"Um, are you Edward?" A scratchy voice asked from a few feet away.

"What's it to you?" I barked, not removing my hands from my eyes.

"Bella wants to see you." I looked up and saw him. He was only a little taller than me, built, but his face was unmistakably boyish.

"What does she need me for when she has you?"

"Uh, she mumbled something about holding her, and I didn't really feel comfortable with that." He laughed, as if this was some sick joke.

"Suddenly feeling shy, are you?" I snapped.

"Look, I don't know what you think is going on, but she needs you right now." His eyes flashed protectively, and that was all the proof that I needed.

"Tell her that it looks as if she doesn't need me after all." I tried to cover up the crack in my voice with a cough, but that was unsuccessful. He left without another word, shaking his head.

Carlisle had told me about the surgery, and as much as I hated it, I was still worried about her. I knew I was being a masochist for going to check on her, but I _had _to. Something deep within me wouldn't let me walk away completely.

Outside her room, I heard the steady 'beeps' of the machines within. My heart, on the other hand, was beating fast. I wondered if she'd always have this effect on me. Slowly, I drew the curtain back the slightest bit. She was in a drugged sleep, her chest rising and falling mechanically. Her face was sallow and almost gray, and the bruises on her arms were turning an ugly yellow-purple. The sight of her made my heart sink. _How could have I turned away from her?_

_Because she doesn't need me._

The voices in my head warred on, and all I could do was stare at her. She stirred slightly and tried to open her eyes. I panicked and replaced the curtain, running back to my brooding spot behind the hospital.

I reeked. Almost four days without a shower will do that, I suppose. Back home, I was tortured by memories of Bella everywhere. I could barely stand to be in my room for more than the couple minutes it took me to get dressed after my shower. The shower I took in the guest bathroom. It didn't go unnoticed by me that all of her things were still here; her phone, her purse, her scent. I had to get out of the house. I stumbled out into the backyard and sat in the gazebo. Immediately my mind traveled to our first kiss. I ripped grass out of the ground and threw it back, trying to get a grip on myself. I probably looked like a sulking child.

I heard a car pull in and park. It was Alice, her chatter preceding her. I knew that Esme would want to feed everyone, I was pretty hungry myself, so I pulled my sorry ass off the ground and made my way into the kitchen.

"Good afternoon, Edward." Alice said through clenched teeth. I didn't have the energy to deal with Alice right now. I just wanted to eat and to forget about everything. I cut myself a slice of cake and set my plate on the island.

"Oh no you don't, that's Bella's cake." Esme scolded. I looked down at my piece.

'_soon Be'_

I glanced over at the rest of the cake.

'_Get well lla'_

I suddenly lost my appetite. I made a sound that could only be described as a huff and left the kitchen. I went up the stairs sluggishly from the lack of food, but mostly from the lack of sleep. I just wanted to crash. I opened my door and my heart stopped.

"I'm just packing up. Then you'll be rid of me." Bella sniffled. She was leaning over her back pack, aimlessly throwing clothes and toiletries into it. I gaped at her. I searched for words, but my tongue ran dry and everything got caught in my throat. I must have looked like a fish, opening and closing my mouth. I didn't know what to feel. Angry? No, I was too tired for that. More like confused and upset.

"Who is he?" I finally managed to croak.

"What are you talking about?" She looked up, genuinely puzzled.

"Don't lie to me, Bella." My anger resurfaced briefly, but I managed to keep it down.

"I suppose you're talking about Jacob." She sighed and sat on my bed. I didn't join her. I stood in the doorway still, my arms crossed over my chest. "Every summer I would come to Forks to visit Charlie. He's close friends with Billy Black, Jacob's father. Naturally, Jake and I spent a lot of time together. I was his babysitter too I guess. When I came to stay in Forks permanently, he helped me adjust. I didn't tell him about Dimitri, though. He's like my little brother, Edward." She was crying quietly. "When I saw him walk across the stage this May, I cried like the big sister I am."

_I've made a huge mistake._

"Why weren't you there? Why don't you trust me? " She asked. She looked so dejected and small, and it broke me to know that I made her feel that way.

"There isn't an excuse that I could give you that would make it better." I walked over to her and sat on the bed, taking her left hand in mine.

"I-I thought you didn't want anything to do with me because of Dimitri." She whispered. "I was sure you got tired of all of this." She adjusted her sling and winced a little.

"Not at all. And I'm not tired of you, not in the least. I never will be." I moved in and kissed her forehead. "I love you." I whispered. Finally, her pretty face lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Really?" I nodded and kissed her lips this time."I love you too." She beamed.

"I'm going to make this up to you." I said into her neck as I held her tightly to my chest. She giggled my favorite laugh and nodded.

"The first thing you can do is sign my sling."

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**Hooray!**

**Please review :)**

**Also, I am sad to report that LMOHM is drawing to a close. There will probably, at the most, be under 5 chapters left, but I'm pretty sure there's going to be an epilogue or two. **

**Best wishes,**

** Hannah.**


	17. Chapter 16

**I meant to get this to you guys a lot sooner, but some family came for a surprise visit, so things sort of got delayed. Having past the 100 review mark (sniffle, sniffle) I just wanted to say THANK YOU to every one who has contributed either advice or just their impressions of the chapters. Even though I don't always reply, I love hearing from you and I take everything you say seriously. You're the best, readers!  
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**Also, erm, Lemons?**

**Enjoy!**

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EPOV**

I wasn't happy. Well, that may be a little melodramatic. I was _annoyed._ Bella was moving back to her place today. She had insisted that she regain at least some of her independence. I could understand that. What I couldn't wrap my brain around was the prospect of us not sharing a bed anymore.

"Do you really have to leave?" I pouted. Bella zipped her last bag closed and raised her eyebrow at me.

"Edward, sulking isn't a very becoming behavior. Besides, I feel awful for abusing your mother's hospitality."

"I'm not sulking." I whined. "And Esme doesn't want to see you go, too. You know Alice will miss you." She snorted and stood on her tip-toes to kiss my cheek.

"Yes you are, and stop trying to guilt-trip me. Now, be a good boyfriend and drive me home so I can unpack." I helped her pack her bags into my Volvo and we took off towards her house.

Chief Swan was waiting for us on the front porch, installing a new security system.

"Never hurts." He muttered as I walked through the door, arms laden with bags. Up in her room, I helped Bella put everything back in its rightful place.

"Do you remember the first time I came to your house?"

"Um, the double-date, right?" She blushed.

"You looked amazing. I mean, you still do." I stammered.

"Maybe we should go out another date. Just the two of us, though. We haven't exactly gone about the normal relationship route." She commented.

"Wait, what do you mean normal couples don't have their first kiss and then sleep in the same bed for two months?" I murmured, pulling her into my arms for a kiss. She giggled used her right hand to fist my hair and deepen the connection. I sucked her soft bottom lip, causing her mouth to open slightly. I took the opportunity to slip my tongue in and feel the warmth of her mouth. She hummed contentedly pressed her little body into mine.

"I love you." She panted. My lips moved to her neck, leaving wet traces up and down her flesh.

"And I love you." I whispered straight in her ear and I softly bit the lobe. She responded with a low moan that only served to make me even harder.

"Ch-Charlie is still downstairs." She breathed.

"Do you _really_ want me to stop?" I teased. I ground myself into her a little for emphasis and I let my hands travel up and down her slender figure. I loved feeling the gentle curve of her waist that eventually led to her wonderful behind.

"Not at all, b-but he might..." I cut her off with another movement of my hips and a fierce kiss.

"I want you, Isabella Swan." Her body shivered with what I hoped was a shared want. "I _need_ you."

"J-just give me a minute to get Charlie the hell out of here." I sighed and released her. I knew damn well that the Chief would never let me near his daughter ever again if he walked in on us. "Don't go anywhere, okay?"

"I promise."

"Good, because I have plans for you." She winked and closed her door, leaving me alone in her room with a near painful hard-on. Ten excruciatingly long minutes later, I heard her ascend the stairs. I propped myself up on her bed, waiting for the moment when she would finally be mine. The door opened slowly, and she stuck her head through the crack, the rest of her body remaining hidden.

"Um, I kind of have a surprise for you." Her face was tomato red. That could mean two things. One, something embarrassing. Two, something really hot. I really hoped it was the latter.

"Oh?" I prompted. She swung the door open revealing the rest of her. "_Fuck."_ I groaned.

She was wearing a pale pink corset and matching lacy boy-shorts. The corset pushed her breasts up, making them look even more inviting and full. She bit her lip in anticipation.

"I-Is it too much?" She walked unsure over to the bed. In one fell swoop, I pulled her down onto the soft comforter with me; careful to avoid her wrist.

"Not at fucking all." I sighed. I rolled on top of her and searched her face. "I love you." I said as I kissed her forehead.

"You already said that." She giggled.

"Get used to it." I lapped at her neck, quickly erasing all coherent thoughts from her mind. "I want this off of you." I tugged at the bottom seam of the corset. I eased up and let her turn her back to me, giving me access to the lacing. After loosening the satin ribbons, the corset was easily removed.

I hungrily attacked her breasts, leaving no inch unexplored. Every movement of my lips and tongue brought forth a moan or pant from Bella. Her little hand ran up my side, sliding my shirt up. I pulled it off and unbuttoned my pants as well. Leaning over top of her, I shimmied her boy-shorts down to her thighs and finally all the way off her legs. From the way she rubbed her thighs together, I knew she needed friction and release. Good thing, because I was going to give her both. I tested her readiness with a light stroke across her clit and the resulting moan was all the indication I needed. In one swift motion I yanked my boxers to the floor and then returned to my position of leaning over a radiant looking Bella. A lovely blush had spread across her entire body causing her lips and nipples to appear even pinker.

"Are you ready?" I asked. There was no way I was going to go through with this if she had any doubts. "Are you sure your wrist is okay?"

"My wrist is fine." She glared at me. I erased any negative expression from her face with a deep kiss, my mouth enveloping hers. Slowly, my hands maneuvered down her body until I could grasp her hips. Holding her hips gently, I entered her gradually; relishing the warmth and moisture. We both groaned at the tightness. I took a second to acclimate myself; I had no intention of blowing my load in the first five seconds like a horny seventeen year old. Once I was sure of my endurance, I started an easy rhythm. The sounds that came from Bella only served to increase my need for release. I set a faster pace and soon, I felt her walls constrict and her mewling became more frequent and higher-pitched. The tension of our connection caused a tightness and heat in my abdomen, signaling my impending undoing.

"Edward, I-I, yes!" Bella cried, spurring me on and I quickened my movements. A few seconds later, her insides clamped down on me and she called out my name in a throaty moan. Her pulsations sent me over the edge and I too joined her in oblivion. I collapsed on top of her, careful not to land on her wrist. I wrapped her up in my arms and sheets, letting us come down from our joined high. I kissed her sweetly, tasting the tinge of salt from the sweat we had worked up. We lay silently intertwined for a few minutes, soaking in the moment.

"I love you." I whispered. But she didn't hear me, her heavy eyes already were closed and her breathing steadied. I pulled her tightly into my chest and fell into my own blissful sleep.

**BPOV**

I yawned at stretched, feeling the now familiar throb of my wrist and a new stiffness that I assumed came from earlier 'exercise'. I smiled stupidly at the stunt I pulled. Granted, I had to get Alice to help me choose the corset, but the idea had been all mine. And from what transpired, I can only assumed that Edward was grateful. I sighed and rolled over to reach for Edward, but the sheets beside me were empty and cold. I frowned and panicked, thinking he probably had left after I fell asleep. I got out of bed and dug through my purse for my phone. No new texts or missed calls. I was, however, surprised to find that it was a little after four in the morning. We must have fallen asleep with the lights on. I threw on my robe and sling and descended the stairs. I was fully awake now, and very, very hungry.

The smell of french toast hit me like a brick wall and I'm fairly sure I drooled a little.

"Morning, beautiful." Edward grinned as he transferred a couple of pieces of toast from the pan to a plate.

"Edward."

"Yes?" He looked at me with concern, probably thinking he wasn't allowed to touch my kitchen.

"You are a fucking god." I stated simply and snatched the plate of french toast from his hand. He chuckled and passed me the bottle of maple syrup. He knew I loved extra sugar. I moaned at the contact of soggy bread and my taste buds.

"Glad you like it." He laughed again and dug into his own plate. We ate in contented silence for a few minutes, just enjoying each other's company."Um, there's actually something I wanted to talk to you about." He smiled nervously. At least he didn't say the hysteria inducing _'we need to talk'_.

"Spill it, Cullen." He took a deep breath and a long pull of milk.

"I-I guess I'm just worried about the fall. U of W and Peninsula aren't exactly close to each other. I thought if we worked something out now, things wouldn't be as stressful come the start of the semester." My brain instantly went through several 'worst-case-scenarios' of this conversation. None of them looked peachy.

"What if we can't work something out?" I whispered.

"We will." He said firmly. "I'm not going to let you go." I nodded and bit my lip.

"Well, what if I transferred? My grades are good enough." To be able to live with, or even close to, Edward would be extremely exciting.

"Its pretty much too late for that; you would have had to send your application in at the beginning of summer." He frowned.

"Maybe I could apply for the spring semester, then." I offered.

"Bella, I don't want you doing this just for me. What if you don't like your classes or professors?"

"I'm doing this for _us_. Besides, I actually got accepted to U of W. I only went to Peninsula because they gave me more money." I shrugged.

That left the problem of an increased tuition, but I hoped that my paychecks and a slight dip into Grandma Swan's inheritance would suffice.

"That still leaves us with one semester apart." He scowled again and bit angrily into a piece of toast. He chewed like he was trying to decimate the poor bite of bread.

"I can drive up on weekends." He swallowed thickly and stared at me.

"I'm not sure your truck can make it." His frown was replaced by a cocky smirk.

"Don't. Hate. Bertha." I snapped.

"She looks like a Bertha. Or a Rhonda." He snorted and I smacked his hand. He sighed and played with a loose strand of my hair. "Its not fair that you have to do all the changing, Bella."

"I don't mind." I insisted. "I know you're going to be busy, and it makes sense for me to do all this because my schedule will be more flexible." I kissed his jaw reassuringly.

"I love you, did you know that?" He sighed.

"Maybe." I giggled.

"Do you want me to prove it? Again?" He huskily asked, pulling me into his lap so that I straddled him.

"Mr. Cullen, I must say, you are very convincing."

"And you, Miss Swan, are absolutely irresistible."

He pressed his palms into my backside, effectively grinding me into his hips. Edward was already hard so I found a wonderful friction that sent shivers down my spine. His lips traveled my neck down to my collar bones.

"This robe simply will not do." He panted. I shrugged off the sleeves and shimmied out of the top half of my robe. With my chest bare, I helped him out of his own undershirt. I hissed when his tongue met with my nipple and my good hand involuntarily gripped his hair to pull his head further into my chest. Every nip and suck made me buck my hips in search of more friction to satisfy my aching need.

"Edward please." I moaned. With nimble fingers he untied my robe's belt and the satiny fabric slithered to the floor. Without warning, those fingers found my core, ready and willing. A few quick strokes of my slit later and he slipped two fingers inside me. The sensation rippled through my body and a breathy moan escaped my lips. Slowly, Edward pumped a gentle rhythm. Tightness built up in my abdomen and a heated flush spread across my chest.

"I-I need you." I gasped. He unsheathed his fingers and I whimpered at the loss of feeling. Standing up, I let him slip off his boxers. He sat back on the kitchen chair and I gave him a puzzled look. "Here?" I asked. He nodded and licked his lips in anticipation. I shrugged and settled on his lap, hoping my neighbors were fast asleep. With their windows closed.

"Fuck, you really want me don't you." He groaned as his length came in contact with my wetness. Foregoing an answer, I lined him up with my entrance and pushed him through my slit. Instantly I felt full and complete, every inch of my body felt at ease. His hands gripped my backside and guided my body as I moved over him. I had never felt so amazingly in control in my entire life, and I relished in the fact that it was Edward I was able to share my new confidence with. After a while we both became needy and I sped up my ministrations. He held firmly on to me and used his leverage to bring me down on him with more strength than I could muster on my own with my bum wrist.

"Bella," He panted. "I-I can't...yes." I knew he was close and I wasn't far behind him. I leaned forward to create a different angle, causing every movement and feeling to amplify. I cried out as he filled me, seeing stars and shuddering around him. Seconds later he tensed and and grunted out his finish.

"I told you there were advantages in me moving back here." I laughed breathlessly.

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**I hope you all enjoyed that chapter ;)**

**Thanks for reading and please review.  
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	18. Chapter 17

**Well, this is awkward...I'm back...yeah. I could give you guys a million excuses as to why it took so long to update, but that won't get you to the story any quicker, so I'm going to chalk it all up to "school started and things got busy".**

So, here is the next installment for your reading pleasures. Its all BPOV and a little emotional, so bear with Bella as she goes through some shit. :)

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BPOV**

I turned my stereo's volume up all the way, letting MGMT blast through my little house. I stepped into the shower, careful to not pull off the humiliating plastic bag I was required to wear on my wrist to keep it from getting wet. I had quickly discovered that washing my hair one-handed wasn't exactly easy, but I managed. I wanted to look my best today. This was my first court date, after all.

When Jasper and Emmett hauled Dimitri off to the police station, he had been arraigned on a couple charges of assault and harassment. I knew he couldn't be locked away forever under those circumstances, but I at least hoped he'd learn his lesson and stay the fuck away from me. But hope is a faithless friend, so I tried not to invest too much of my heart in that idea. After my shower I dressed quickly, well quickly for a one-handed cripple, anyway. I decided on my black trouser pants with a deep purple blouse and Alice's borrowed black flats. I wanted to look professional, and she had so many pairs she let me keep them, citing I was a bit of a charity case when it came to shoes. I rolled my eyes and slipped them on before running a brush through my wet and tangled hair. I then outfitted myself in my ever so fashionable sling.

I heard the familiar purr of Edward's Volvo outside my window. To save him the trouble, I gave him a copy of my key, and he often stayed a few nights in a row. He called it 'checking up on me', but he was just looking for some whoopie. I didn't mind. In fact, I enjoyed myself quite thoroughly. I grabbed my purse and met him downstairs where he pulled me in for a playful kiss.

"Ready to go?" He asked with a tentative smile. I knew he was nervous about the trial, more so than I was. I had been running from Dimitri for years now, so I guess I was a little jaded about everything. I also knew that my under-reaction bothered Edward, it was like he expected me to break down in tears every five minutes. But I wouldn't be weak. No, I would prove Dimitri wrong.

"Yep, let me just grab an apple for the road." I plucked a red fruit from the wicker basket on the kitchen counter.

"This is all the breakfast you're going to have?"

"My hair took a while to wash." I shrugged and took a slobbery bite. He shook his head and grabbed another apple for me to put in my purse for later.

"You'll need the energy." He mumbled. Once securely buckled into my seat, I reached to fiddle with his stereo, something I did frequently. "Wait, play CD three instead." He interrupted. I nervously pressed 'play'.

My body had a knee-jerk reaction, a slight shudder when I heard the music. Old thoughts, feelings, and confusions coursed through me as the song Edward had played for me on the Fourth floated from the speakers. It was still beautiful, but now I could feel even more of the complexity of it. The first time I had heard it, I knew only my own side of the story. Now, with the full knowledge of the depth of Edward's feelings, the song moved me insurmountably more.

My first instinct was to leap over the gear shift and kiss his brains out, but reason quickly squashed that idea because the little fact that he was driving. So instead, a goofy carnival grin was plastered on my face, I reached out and held his hand while he drove, squeezing it tightly. Soon, tracks I didn't know played one after the other, but there was an underlying theme in them all; Edward. It was like he had his own vibrations and they were transferred seamlessly into his music; marking it and decorating it as pure Edward.

"Its yours, you know." He murmured.

"What?"

"The CD. All those songs, they're Isabella. That doesn't make sense. What I meant was that I wrote them all with you on my mind." He smiled sheepishly.

I bit my lip to keep from crying.

"Edward, that's the nicest, most heartfelt thing anyone has ever done for me." I brought his hands to my lips and placed a soft kiss on his knuckles. "Thank you."

"Remind me to give you the CD when I drive you home. I've been meaning to give it to you for a while."

"I love it." I sang.

In the Port Angeles municipal courthouse parking lot I recognized Charlie's truck, Carlisle's BMW, and the little red Malibu that had haunted me for five years. I reflexively squeezed Edward's hand tighter as we passed it on our way in. He returned a squeeze and kissed the top of my head; reassuring me. I exhaled deeply as I passed through the metal detectors. All the bravado and confidence from just a few minutes ago vanished the second we stepped into the courtroom.

It wasn't at all like what I had expected. Being the chief's daughter and an upstanding citizen, I had never had the previous need to be inside a courtroom. But from watching To Kill A Mockingbird and Twelve Angry Men in lit class, I had expected dark wood panels and high podiums. Here, there was an understated and boring podium for the judge and two Ikea style tables for the defense and prosecution. I somehow felt gypped from my courtroom experience. Edward led me to an open seat reserved for witnesses. The prosecutor, a small spit-fire of a woman named Jane Morgan, had briefed me on the proceedings, what type of questions I would be asked, and general courtroom behavior. She wanted me to play the role of the sniveling victim. I refused at first until she pointed out that the more upset and distraught I was, the more sympathetic the judge would be. _Such a lawyer thing to say_. Emmett, Jasper, and Alice joined us in the witness section. Jane said that the youngest and most 'shaken' of us on the camping trip would be the ones she would call to the stand if needed. Even though everything seemed cut and dry, I couldn't help but feel that Dimitri very well could walk free if things didn't go well today.

I tapped my foot nervously as Esme and Carlisle entered and sat in the audience section. Charlie lingered by the doors, greeting Billy and Jake. I was glad everyone had come to support me, but their presence just unnerved me further. In a perfect world, it would have just been Edward and I; he was the one I needed most. Of course, in a perfect world, I wouldn't be sitting in a courtroom waiting for the trial of my crazy stalker ex-boyfriend.

Just then Jane and the defense attorney, I think his name was Marcus or something, sat down at their respective tables and began opening and sorting files. After that, two police officers escorted Dimitri to Marcus' table. My breath hitched as he passed by my seat. He didn't look at me, but his fists clenched tightly as he passed my row. Edward must have had a couple broken bones in his hand from the way I was gripping it, but he kept a firm resolve. I let out a shaky breath and blinked a couple times to steady myself. If there was ever a time to be strong, it was now.

After the opening statements were given, the proceedings past by in a whirl. Maybe it was because I was trying to block out the details that Jane was so graphically describing from the camping trip and my time in Phoenix, or maybe it was the sheer stress of having to be in the same room as Dimitri. When the time came for Jane to call her witnesses, I seized. Thankfully she called Alice first, and Pixie gave me a reassuring smile as she rose from her seat. Alice swore on the Bible and the questioning began.

"Miss Cullen, how are you acquainted with Miss Swan?" Jane asked coldly. Something in me told me that she was saving all the theatrics for my statement.

"We're friends." Alice charmed. Jane nodded.

"And were you with Miss Swan on the morning of August 3rd?"

"Yes I was, although I was in a different tent." Any good humor that Alice had stored up was gone, and her voice wavered.

"Can you describe what you saw that morning?" Alice nodded and took a deep breath.

"I woke up to screaming. I-I thought a bug had just gotten into someone's tent." Her lip quivered. "I unzipped the tent and I saw Dimitri holding Bella's arms. She was struggling but he had her pinned. I froze, I don't know why, I-Bella I'm sorry!" She stared at her hands and my eyes began to water. I shook my head. _No, this wasn't her fault. _

"Miss Cullen, please." Jane cut her off. "I have no more questions."

"I have no questions for Miss Cullen." Marcus announced. He was a sad, tired looking old man with a shabby suit that looked like it was a Salvation Army find. He was probably the best lawyer Dimitri could afford.

Alice sulked back to her seat and almost collapsed into Jasper. He held her little body to his and rocked her back and forth. I couldn't help but feel my heart warm at the sight of them.

_I can't do this._

I squeezed my eyes shut and bit my lip. I felt a warm hand snake up my arm and pull my hand away from my eyes. In an instant I knew it was Edward, not because he was sitting next to me, but because I had somehow memorized his touch; his exact texture and feel. It soothed me somewhat, but it was going to take more than that to completely calm my nerves.

I didn't even hear them call my name. I only remember Edward pulling me to my feet and the bailiff escorting me to the stand. Somehow, words flowed from my mouth as I swore on the tattered book. I had practiced my tunnel vision in the shower, but it seemed to be failing me now. The bright fluorescent lights and shiny aluminum of the courtroom were overwhelming and I felt like a deer in headlights. I suppose my disorientation helped my case; I must have looked so shaken, exactly what Jane wanted. Time seemed to slow down. My eyes had plenty of time to scan the entire room. Charlie sat in the back, his hands looking like they were pulling what was left of his hair out. Jake shifted uncomfortably and picked at his sleeve. Carlisle and Esme sat hand in hand, giving me supportive smiles. And then my eyes betrayed me. They traveled to where he sat, looking down at his feet. But I knew better. He wasn't feeling guilt or remorse. He was _bored_. My anger was cut off Jane's first question.

"Miss Swan, can you tell me how you are acquainted with Mr. Dunmore?"

"We met in high school. We dated for two years before I moved to Forks." I kept my responses short; I didn't want my voice to betray me any further. Jane nodded.

"Can you describe the relationship in high school?" Her gray eyes glimmered. She knew that by introducing Dimitri's violet past, the case was a done deal for her. I wish I didn't have to say the words. They made it all real and not some conceived nightmare.

"Abusive." I choked out.

"Elaborate, please." Jane raised a perfectly manicured eyebrow. It looked as if she was going in for the kill. If she wasn't on my side, I'd be completely terrified of her.

"Whenever we disagreed, h-he'd..." I swallowed thickly. "He'd hit me." I avoided the gaze of everyone, looking instead at my fingers in my lap.

"And did you tell Mr. Dunmore that you were leaving Phoenix to live with your father in Forks?"

"No." I said flatly.

"So you believe he followed you to Washington?"

"Yes." I bit my lip and kept my head down.

"Is the account that Miss Cullen gave of August 3rd correct?"

"Yes. I was walking back from the outhouse when he grabbed me." Suddenly, anger surged from deep within me.

"Would it be correct to say that it was Mr. Dunmore that broke your wrist?" Jane's smile was demonic.

"Absolutely. He twisted it back too far."

"Thank you, Miss Swan." She concluded. Marcus then weakly stood up and approached me on the stand. He coughed into a very used tissue and stuffed it back into a worn pocket.

"Now, Miss Swan, is it true that your parents are divorced?" His question caught me completely off guard and my mouth gaped unattractively.

"Uh, y-yes they are."

"And did you resent your mother for leaving your father?" The question stung me in a way I never thought possible. I had always been a little unforgiving with my mother when it came to her many boyfriends over the years, and I still couldn't wrap my brain around why she left Charlie. But_ resentment_?

"No. Never." I answered sternly.

"So you didn't leave Phoenix because of your mother's high turnover of boyfriends?"

"How did-no! She wanted me to live with my dad because she saw all my bruises." I was flustered, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Jane tense a little. She must have not seen this coming.

_I didn't see this coming. _

"It must have been hard to live with your mother. Is it possible you were looking for attention by showing her your 'bruises'?" I wanted to punch that fucker Marcus.

"I love my mother and she took good care of me. I never needed to look for attention, she did nothing wrong." My hands were shaking now.

"That is all, Miss Swan." Marcus said and returned to his table. I struggled to stay upright as I was escorted back to my seat. I felt like a fish, my mouth opening and closing, searching for words I didn't have.

"Baby, don't worry." Edward whispered, sensing my distress.

The judge then called for a short fifteen minute recess so that the defense and prosecution could reorganize for Dimitri's statement. As soon as the good 'Your Honor' Aro Medeluzza slammed his gavel, I bolted out of the room. I didn't know where to go, but I knew I couldn't stay in there while they questioned Dimitri. My stomach was twisted into knots and I felt like I was going to lose my breakfast. I found the bathroom easily and took up shop in the last stall. I sat on the toilet and pressed my heated forehead into the cool tile wall. I breathed in the awful air-freshener, but its floweriness caused a new wave of nausea to pass through me. I pulled my knees to my chest and breathed through my mouth. I closed my eyes and tried to clear my mind.

"Bella?" I heard Rose call. I held my breath; I had no intention of going back in there and I really didn't want to be found right now, either. I heard her spiky heels 'click' across the floor, getting closer and closer to my stall. She sighed heavily. From under the door I could see her feet turn and walk in the other direction and soon the door slammed closed. I let out a shaky breath. I thought about leaving the courthouse completely, but since Edward had driven me here, I was sunk for a ride. At the time, that should have been foremost in my mind; but it wasn't. Getting the hell out of the building was. I checked my watch and saw that the recess was almost over. There was no way I was going back in there, so all I had to do was wait for everyone to move back to their seats. Then I would make my escape.

I counted to 150 in my head before sliding ungracefully off of the toilet. Tentatively, I unlatched the stall door and peeked my head out. Nobody. I sighed with relief and tried to regain at least some composure. I checked my reflection in the mirror before leaving the relative safety of my bathroom hide-away. Any evidence of brushing was replaced by a mess of snarled and tangled hair. A quick 'finger-brush' and pat down was enough to separate me from 'crazy cat lady' to 'she's just having a bad day'. That was good enough for me. I was thankful that I had chosen to wear flats, my steps were virtually soundless as I tip-toed out of the bathroom and into the courthouse lobby and security check. One of the female guards gave me a sympathetic look and let me out the back door, free from view of anyone waiting in the main parking lot. The fresh air washed over me and it felt heavenly. Even though it was only September, a bitter wind nipped at my ears as I walked. I longed for the heated interior of Edward's car. No, I longed just for the warmth of Edward. I knew he'd be upset by my leaving, but surely he'd understand how suffocating the trial had become for me.

I circled through the park and towards the main drag of Port Angeles. It was a little past noon, and people bustled about the sidewalks, looking for a restaurant or shop. After two rotations of Main Street, I slumped down onto a bench facing the waterfront. At least here I could sit mindlessly without having to worry about my motor skills being at risk. I started to cry. can

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**I can assure you that next chapter will be from EPOV recounting what happened after Bella leaves. And um...about the updating...I can't promise anything super soon, but I'll try and work on things as much as possible to get it to you. That was a retardedly vague answer, sorry but its the best I can come up with :(**

**I need a schedule for this shit. Oi.**

Review please! 


	19. Chapter 18

**Here it is, the final chapter :( Please read and review, it would make me the happiest person in the world. Well, minus Bella and her happy ending...oh poo, I spoiled it. Oh but you already knew that was coming, I could never write a sad ending hahaha... **

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EPOV**

I could feel the stress radiating off of Bella. Her shoulders were tense, her back hunched, as Alice was questioned. I gave her knee a squeeze now and then, just to keep her from disappearing too far into her head. I knew it was going to be a difficult day for everyone**. **When Bella was called up to the stand, my heart seized. My fists clenched; I knew she was feigning confidence this morning, I just hoped she could last without having a serious breakdown.

"Miss Swan, can you tell me how you are acquainted with Mr. Dunmore?" Jane began.

"We met in high school. We dated for two years before I moved to Forks." Bella kept her head down and I could see how uncomfortable she was. If I could trade places with her, I would gladly do it.

"Can you describe the relationship in high school?"

As I listened, I tried to keep eye contact with Bella; if only to be some sort of support. The moment Marcus mentioned Bella's mother, I knew things weren't going as Jane had predicted. I saw Bella's countenance fall, her eyes frantically searching around the room for an answer. I seethed quietly. _He shouldn't be able to do this to her. _It was painful to sit through. Esme, who was sitting directly behind me, grasped my shoulder. She could feel how tense I was, even through my thick corduroy blazer.

As soon as Marcus was done drilling Bella, the judge called for a short recess. I couldn't have been more thankful. Bella stumbled back to down the aisle, but instead of returning to her seat, she kept her head down and walked straight for the doors in the back of the courtroom. I got up to follow her, but my path was blocked by a visibly upset Rosalie.

"She probably wants to be alone for a little bit." She said shakily.

"Bella needs me." I all but snarled.

"I've known Bella for almost six years. I know when she needs space. I expect you to respect that." She snapped. I sighed and tugged at my hair. "Look, after a couple minutes I'll go after her. She's probably in the bathroom anyway."

"Okay." I mumbled. I followed the rest of the group out into the main lobby where Esme tried to get me to drink some lemonade.

"Edward, honey, you need some sugar in your system." She badgered. I didn't want sugar. I wanted Bella. She looked so small and weak up on the stand; something she should never have to feel ever again. Not while I was in her life.

"Mom, I'm fine." I said through clenched teeth. I paced nervously, making my rounds from Emmett to Jasper and back to my mother. They all offered me annoyingly calm remarks on how they thought the trial was going.

"Edward, I'm going to get Bella, okay?" Rosalie tugged on my jacket. I nodded and ran my hands through my hair in anticipation.

I waited. Rosalie didn't come back. I waited some more. My pacing grew more frantic and I could feel the eyes of my family and friends on me constantly. My eyes were glued to my watch. Two minutes. Five minutes. Ten minutes Bella had been gone.

"Something is wrong." Jasper whispered to me. "I can feel it." Just then Rosalie rushed back to our group.

"She's not in the bathroom. I even checked the second and third administrative floors." Her eyes probably matched mine in their wild frenzy.

"Did you check the parking lot?" Carlisle asked much too calmly. Rosalie's eyes shut as she nodded painfully. I covered my mouth with my hand to stop the feral growl that fought to escape. There was no way that I was going to let the girl that I loved just disappear.

"Edward, you don't need to be here for the rest of the trial, honey." Esme said, reading my mind.

"S-she left her purse!" Alice cried out of nowhere. I looked back at my baby sister and saw the worry etched into her face. I gave her a tight hug and a kiss on the forehead before taking Bella's bag and sprinting to the revolving doors. _I fucking hate revolving doors with the intensity of a thousand white hot suns. _

"I'll give her the purse when I find her." I yelled behind me. With that, I flew out to the parking lot and jumped into the Volvo. I knew she'd be on foot, so she couldn't have gone very far. My house was out of the question due to distance, and so was hers. The only other thing I could think of was that Bella had to still be in Port Angeles. I rummaged through her purse, but I found exactly what I hoped I wouldn't. Bella had left her phone behind. I cursed and stomped my foot on the gas pedal. The tires squealed as I peeled away from the courthouse.

The streets whipped by, a soft blur with my speed. I parked near the center of town, barely slowing down to lock the doors as I swiftly made my way into the afternoon foot traffic. It was a little after 1pm, and people were rushing back to their jobs, and they didn't seem all that eager to get out of my fucking way, either.

I thought at first she'd be at Benby's, her favorite book shop, but the owner said he hadn't seen Bella in weeks. I slammed the door behind me, the little bell clanging loudly in my wake. It briefly occurred to me to contact the police. But I was positive I could find her myself without all that fanfare. Slowly the streets became quieter as lunch-time commuters shuffled their way back to their cars.

My feet began to drag by the time I reached Peach's Ice Cream and the waterfront.

"Hey Tony, have you seen Bella?" I asked wearily. I was giving myself half an hour to find her before I called the police.

"She walked by, yeah. I thought I saw her by Dockside Park." He nodded towards the tiny green space close to the tourist-trap part of the port, where tour boats congregated.

"Thanks man." I smiled. With renewed energy, I all but ran to the park.

And there she was. Hunched over on a bench, hugging her knees. As I got closer, I could hear small sobs and my heart broke. I sat down next to her and pulled her into my lap. She didn't look up, somehow she innately knew it was me. That alone made me feel ten times better. I held her close and kissed the top of her head.

"Baby, don't ever scare me like that again." I croaked. She looked up at me with watery brown eyes.

"I'm so sorry. Edward, I-"

"Shh. I understand. I just wish you had told me." I knew that she could only take so much of this shit before cracking. Hell, I'm not sure how much I could have taken. I rocked her in my arms for a few more minutes while her crying subsided.

"I love you." She whispered and shifted so that her head and back laid against my chest completely.

"I love you too, Bella." I kissed the back of her neck softly and played with the ends of her hair.

"Do we have to go back?" She whined, I couldn't help but chuckle.

"Yes, we do. Your father wouldn't be very happy to find his only daughter gone and living in sin with her boyfriend." She turned to look at me and arched an eyebrow.

"Living in sin, eh?" I couldn't help but smile and kiss her pretty, pretty lips.

"Don't tempt me." I winked. "We should go." I sighed and pulled her to her feet. We walked back to the Volvo hand-in-hand, her head resting against my shoulder. Back in my car, she called Charlie to let him know she was alright. Something I was very grateful to not have the duty of. Its not that I didn't like the Chief, he just scared the piss out of me, and the one thing that made that cop-stache twitch was anything having to do with his daughter. With whom I was very much involved. _Obviously._

"Yes daddy, Edward came and got me... Yes, I'm fine... No, you don't have to...Dad! I swear everything is alright...Yeah, love you too." She rolled her eyes and popped her phone back into her purse.

"He doesn't much like me, does he." I grumbled.

"Don't be ridiculous. He doesn't have a problem with you. He just can't get over the fact that I'm not seven anymore." She let out a deep sigh. I could tell how much her family meant to her, even if she thought she could hide it.

"Have you talked to your mom about any of this?" I asked as I pulled onto Fairmount St.

"I'm avoiding it. But I'll call her eventually. Renee has this habit of overreacting."

"Bella, this is serious. She needs to know about what Dimitri did." I spoke gravely. She bit her lip and nodded.

"We're not going back to the courthouse?" Bella inquired as I made the turn onto the highway back to Forks.

"No, the trial is over. Everyone went back to my parents for lunch." Her stomach seemed to enjoy that idea, giving a loud rumble. Bella laughed and agreed that lunch was probably exactly what she needed.

~0~

"Is this the first box?" I grunted under the weight of the cardboard box and god knows what its contents were.

"Yup! Jasper and Emmett should be around soon to help with the rest." Bella called from upstairs. I proceeded to front door and the driveway where Bella's truck sat ready and waiting to accept the box. _Books was _written in block letters on the side. No wonder the thing was so heavy.

"Look who started without us!" Emmet shouted from the street. Rosalie, Alice, and Jasper hopped out of the shaggin' wagon behind him.

"Yeah, and the help is awfully late." I snarked back.

"Is Bella inside?" Rosalie asked.

"She's upstairs. She wanted you and Alice to help her pack up the last bit of stuff." The girls disappeared inside, leaving us boys to do the heavy work.

"I can't believe you guys are moving outta' Forks." Jasper mused while rolling up his sleeves.

"The band won't be the same." Emmett sulked. The big baby.

"Aw come on guys, its not like we're moving to China. We'll drive down on free weekends. Seattle is only a few hours away, geez." I rolled my eyes. _Looks like they had estrogen-O's for breakfast. _

Bella and I had made the decision to move in together shortly after I enrolled at U of W. We had managed to find a reasonably priced apartment in Seattle that was close enough to each of our respective schools. Bella was thrilled to be getting back to class, and I would be kidding myself if I said I wasn't itching to get my medical degree ASAP. And with Dimitri behind bars for the next five years, Bella could finally breathe freely. It had been a fucking battle, but we'd finally made it. I loved her in a way I didn't know was possible, and waking up to her every morning was going to be pure heaven.

"Edward!" Bella shouted from her upstairs window. "We're ready for you guys to take some boxes down."

Emmett mouthed 'whipped' to Jasper, but I saw him and shoved him jokingly.

Two hours later, all of Bella's things were loaded into her rust-bucket truck and securely tied down. Everything I deemed worthy of bringing to Seattle had already been transported to the apartment. The girls joined us in the driveway, munching on some grilled cheese sandwiches that Bella had cooked up.

"My mom was a mess this morning." Alice chirped.

"She's going to miss you more than she is me." I laughed and ruffled Bella's hair. She smiled shyly and shook her head. _Fucking adorable. _

"We've talked about it and we've decided to become pen-pals. You know, old-school!" Bella laughed.

"That'd probably made mom flip." Nothing made me happier than to see the three girls I loved most getting along so well.

"And you'll call me as often as you can, right?" Rosalie all but pouted.

"Rosie, you'll still get my weekly call, bitch." Bella blew her a kiss and winked.

"Hey kids, I don't mean to break up the party but its almost two-thirty and you've got a bit of a drive ahead of you." Jasper interrupted. A collective sadness settled unto our little group. Goodbyes were never Bella's forte. I had been a witness to the awkward and teary send-off she gave The Chief when he went back to Oregon a week after the trial. But this was different. We would try to spend most weekends in Forks, but everything depended how busy school became. Well, that and how much privacy Bella and I needed. Which I hoped was a lot. _If you catch my drift. _

A few more rounds of hugs later, and Bella and I were off. The gravel of her driveway crunched under her old truck's tires and the familiar squeak of the fan belt sprang to life. Soon, we were outside the town limits, our hands entwined on the dashboard. I smiled like a damn fool, my life had never been on such a right track, and I had the most amazing girl in the world to share it with. Bella Fucking Marie Swan.

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**Sniffle, sniffle. That's it, folks. I really hope you enjoyed the ride, I certainly did. If there's enough demand (meaning you have to hit 'review' and leave a request), I will write an epilogue that may or may not include the pretty girl lovey details (weddings sex babies etc) that epilogues seem to have. **

**For those interested, I have another story in the works with about 3 chapters done already. I plan on editing those and writing a few more but as soon as that's all sorted I'll be posting them! So stay tuned...**

**Much love, Hannah.  
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